New research by WWF as part of the Wear it Wild campaign has revealed that millions of Britons are unaware of how many of the world’s animals are vulnerable, endangered or even critically endangered Continue reading...

The ama divers of the Shima peninsula, who harvest shellfish from the seabed, see the nearby gathering of world leaders as a chance to promote their cultureMichiko Nakamura can personally vouch for the provenance of the oysters and clams bubbling away on the grill inside her hut in Osatsu, a fishing village overlooking the Pacific ocean.Related: Japanese vagina kayak artist found guilty of obscenity Continue reading...

Taskforce head reportedly tells Queensland government ‘we’re stuffed with a capital S’ if water quality isn’t improvedA cap on pollution from farms close to the Great Barrier Reef has been proposed by advisers to the Queensland government.The Great Barrier Reef water science taskforce, which advises the Queensland government on how to meet pollution targets on the reef, said sugar cane, grazing and other sectors should be given pollution load limits for their industries in each catchment. It also called for incentives such as auctions for pollution reduction, greater monitoring and regulation, along with “significantly more investment” in the problem. Continue reading...

Wenlock Edge Dark, gnarled trunks of old hawthorns have suddenly become lithe and sinuous, like shadow dancers behind curtains of haze‘May-time, fair season … blackbirds sing a full song, if there be a scanty beam of day,” sang an unknown Irish poet in what we now call the dark ages. Today, the light through the trees is as green and sour as a gooseberry. A high canopy of ash, latest to leaf and still sparse, lets sunshine and showers through to lower levels a-swamp with leaf; each one a crucible in the alchemy turning light into life.Dark, gnarled trunks of old hawthorns have suddenly become lithe and sinuous, like shadow dancers behind curtains of hazel, on carpets of dog’s mercury, in chambers full of birdsong. When the sun’s out, the birds drawl softly in the heady air; when it rains they hold their breaths; when the rain stops and the labyrinths are rinsed clean, they release their voices, cool and sweet. Continue reading...

A report ranking cities most at risk from coastal flooding is a stark reminder that the paradigm of economic development and prosperity no longer holds trueIn January this year, I visited friends in Miami. One of the most urgent topics of conversation was about what they saw as the greatest problem faced by the city – rising water levels, and a long-standing reluctance on the part of government and business to take the necessary steps to control the extensive damage.From inundated homes, shops and roads, to fresh water pollution and sewage being forced upwards, the impacts are widespread. In a Christian Aid report (pdf) published last week, Miami ranked ninth in a list of cities most at risk from future coastal flooding as a result of sea level rises. Supported by data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, projections for the year 2017 suggest that Kolkata and Mumbai, both in India, are most exposed to coastal flooding. Bar Miami, the top ten cities are all in Asia. Continue reading...

More than 180,000 cubic metres of forest to be cut down in area that is home to Europe’s largest mammal and tallest treesPoland has started logging in the ancient Bialowieza forest, which includes some of Europe’s last primeval woodland, despite fierce protests from environmental groups battling to save the World Heritage site.

Giant animals will light up Sydney’s Taronga zoo as part of the Vivid festival. The festival centerpiece features 10 animal lanterns representing the endangered species the zoo is committing to helping, as part of its centenary celebrations. The animal sculptures will include a Sumatran tiger, Asian elephant, sun bear and a platypus, which will go on display as part of the annual lights festival, starting Friday Continue reading...

The US insurance industry is the second largest institutional investor in oil, gas and coal – but it risks losing money if it doesn’t change its investment strategyThe US insurance industry, the country’s second largest institutional investor in oil, gas and coal with $459bn in fossil fuel investments, needs to divest or face serious threats to its financial stability, according to a report released Tuesday.The report, funded by Ceres, a Boston-based sustainability advocacy group, analyzes investment data from the country’s 40 largest insurance companies, including Prudential, AIG, Metlife, State Farm and Allstate. The report doesn’t quantify the potential financial losses but points out the economic challenges that have bedeviled the fossil fuel industry, such as low oil prices and the bankruptcy filings of 69 North American oil and gas producers since the beginning of 2015. Continue reading...

South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory take the green podium for their efforts and policies pushing renewable energy targetsNew South Wales is the worst Australian state at driving renewable energy, and South Australia and the ACT lead the pack, a report produced by the Climate Council has found.The results came just weeks after South Australia closed its last coal power station, and the ACT announced a target to source 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Continue reading...

Imposing the extraction of shale gas on communities in England undermines our already fragile democracyDrinkers in the Ashfield Country Manor Hotel face a dilemma. There is no other pub in the quiet working village of Kirby Misperton in Ryedale. But the landlord has banned discussion on his premises of the very topic that people most want to talk about, because of the strong feelings it arouses. Those feelings are about to get stronger.In the face of overwhelming local opposition, North Yorkshire county council has authorised fracking operations at Kirby Misperton, and in doing so has breathed new life into a faltering industry and placed the village on the frontline of what looks set to become a bitter national struggle. Continue reading...

Drone footage shot by Khmer Times shows mass pollution in the Cambodian Phnom Penh waterways, with the canal system blocked by rubbish ranging from plastic to sewage. The canals and waterways in Phnom Penh are some of the most polluted in the region, leading environmental activists to call on the government to immediately take action Continue reading...

Letters from Vickie Hawkins of Médecins Sans Frontieres UK, Margaret Batty of WaterAid, Professor Stuart Reid of the Royal Veterinary College and two othersJim O’Neill’s report has rightly brought into focus the urgent need to finance and develop new antibiotics (Radical plan to halt scourge of drug resistance, 19 May). But what about the tools that already exist?We know that vaccinations dramatically reduce the number of infections taking hold in the first place. Jim O’Neill says that if every child was vaccinated against pneumonia, it would potentially avert 11.4 million days of antibiotic use per year in children under five. What his report doesn’t do is join the dots and recommend that the companies that already produce these life-saving vaccines lower the price to improve coverage rates. Continue reading...

Park ranger and beekeepers help remove thousands of bees after queen was thought trapped in back of a car in HaverfordwestThousands of bees left a town buzzing after swarming on to the boot of a car.The insects are believed to have swarmed on to the back of a silver Mitsubishi Outlander after their queen got stuck in its boot. Continue reading...

Group of largest shareholders will vote for resolution calling on firm to publish annual assessment of business impact of policies such as Paris AgreementExxonMobil will face a revolt from some of its biggest and most influential shareholders on Wednesday as they fight to force the world’s largest oil company to open up about the effect of climate change on its future profits.

Judge finds festival had low culpability for incident in 2014 that led to death of 42 fish in Whitelake river and is ‘impressed’ with its response to incidentGlastonbury festival has been ordered to pay £31,000 after thousands of gallons of human sewage leaked out of a steel container tank, seeped into a stream and killed fish.The Environment Agency claimed during a hearing that the event had grown more quickly than its ability to deal with so much waste. Continue reading...

Programme in partnership with World Land Trust will create corridors of natural habitat to prevent threatened species from being cut off from each otherA programme to regenerate thousands of acres of forest and link habitats in wildlife-rich parts of the world has been launched.The “bio-bridges” scheme, which creates corridors of natural habitat to prevent threatened wildlife populations being cut off from each other, is being run by the Body Shop in partnership with the World Land Trust. Continue reading...

Industry welcomes decision in Kirby Misperton but campaigners vow to fight council’s approvalAnti-fracking campaigners have accused North Yorkshire council of declaring war on people’s rights to clean air and water after it approved the first operation to frack for shale gas in five years.

On the road and lab test discrepancies undermining efforts to curb toxic air levels as UN environment assembly admits global response is not up to scratchThe growing gulf between laboratory tests and real world air pollution from cars is hampering efforts to cut the toxic air that kills millions of people a year worldwide, a leading expert has warned.The UN admitted on Tuesday that the global response to air pollution is not up to scratch, after it was revealed last week by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that harmful airborne particulates had risen by 8% in cities around the world. Continue reading...

Energy minister tells MPs that no time limit has been set for EDF to make a final investment decision on the much-delayed nuclear plantThe UK has set no deadline for the final go-ahead to the much-delayed Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, energy minister Andrea Leadsom told a committee of MPs on Tuesday.The head of the company aiming to build the new reactors, French state-owned EDF, told the same hearing he could not give a date for the decision nor confirm that it would start generating electricity in 2025, as previously pledged. Continue reading...

Despite thousands of objections shale gas tests in Kirby Misperton were approved on Monday. Locals living in the area tell us their concerns

Countries urged to outlaw possession of wildlife and timber illegally harvested or traded elsewhereGovernments around the world need to pass national laws outlawing the possession of wildlife and timber that has been illegally harvested or traded elsewhere, a new report by the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) urges.At present, unlisted but endangered flora and fauna can be legally sold in other nations, even if it was illicitly taken from the countries of origin, due to a lack of coverage in the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). Continue reading...

New regulations open up an unexplored market for solar in heavily populated areas such as favelas, led by co-operatives, social startups and small businesses

As patios bloom with cold drinks and barbecues get fired up, use this guide to have the greenest shindig on the blockI suspect that we socialize more during the spring and summer months. Under the warm sun, patios bloom with cold drinks and conversation, barbecues get fired up, and parties quickly spill out on to decks and into back yards. Shifting these sweet summer parties to ones that are also waste-free can be both simple and inexpensive, with just a few small shifts to the status quo.The first step is to keep invitations virtual. Creating a Facebook event or sending a simple email is perfect for inviting guests to your party without generating waste from paper invitations, and if you’re looking for something a bit more formal, sites such as Greenvelope and Paperless Post have given the cheesy e-vite a brilliant makeover. Virtual invites also allow you to track RSVPs, communicate with guests, and provide clickable info about your event. Continue reading...

Court dismisses government bid to uphold seven-year ban on domestic trade in rhino horn - but global ban remains in placeSouth Africa’s supreme court has dismissed a government bid to uphold a seven-year ban on the domestic trade in rhino horn, an industry group said this week.The decision has no bearing on a ban on international trade in rhino horn. Potential domestic buyers could include those who see rhino horn as a store of wealth that could appreciate in value and those who want it as a decoration. Continue reading...

Push for nuclear and gas over renewables could be more costly in the long term, warns UN’s environment chiefThe UK government risks slowing the shift to clean energy sources by cutting support for renewable energy and strongly backing gas as a transitional fuel, according to the UN’s environment chief.Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), told the Guardian that he thought the UK’s push for nuclear and gas over renewables could be more costly in the long term. Continue reading...

In a city of 10 million designed around the car – but where most can’t afford one – could bicycles be the answer? The legacy of apartheid planning makes change difficult but cyclists are pushing and, crucially, they have the mayor’s support“Minibus taxis are our biggest problem. They are dangerous. They just don’t care,” says Lovemore as he joins us on a dusty corner in Johannesburg’s Diepsloot township. We are waiting for a group of cyclists to form near the minibus queue, which in the half-light of 6am already stretches around the block. Lovemore consults his smartphone. Around 100 cyclists living in this informal area of makeshift shacks and dirt roads on the edge of South Africa’s biggest city use WhatsApp to coordinate their journeys – there’s safety in numbers. A couple more will be along shortly, he says.The group have agreed to let me join them on their commute to the northern suburbs where most work as gardeners and security guards in luxury shopping malls or the electric-fenced homes of the wealthy. Once the group is deemed big enough we join the slow flow of 4x4 bakkies and cars heading into the city on William Nicol Drive, Johannesburg’s busiest cycling street. There’s a small but steady stream of people on old steel-framed racers and mountain bikes sturdy enough to cope with the potholes and broken glass. Continue reading...

For those backing fracking, the approval of exploration plans at Kirby Misperton is a vital victory, but they are fighting growing public oppositionFor those backing fracking, the approval of exploration plans at Kirby Misperton in Yorkshire is a vital victory.But the war is far from won, with public opinion moving ever further against fracking. The more zealously the government goes on the offensive on shale gas, the more people oppose it. Continue reading...

From phasing out coal to creating nature reserves, it is the EU which should be taking lectures from the UK, not the other way roundThe leading lights of the UK environmental movement would have us believe that a win by the Brexit camp on 23 June would be akin to a natural disaster.

Sinderhope, Northumberland Goldcrests peep high up in the pines. Rabbits have grazed the turf to the tight sward of a lawnThe faded blue footbridge that spans the East Allen stands on tall supports, necessarily high for when the river is in spate. Last December it was a surging, terrifying flood; today the water barely wets the painted wooden gauge in the centre of the ford. A sign warns: “Caution. Due to scouring, depths may be deeper than indicated”. Now, two walkers dry their feet after paddling before putting on their socks. This is Old Man Bottom, a local name – with no apostrophe S – that you won’t find on any map.Mines were often known as Old Man, so it may have some connection with lead extraction. Next to the ford, there’s a new milestone, a stone sculpture of a packhorse pointing five miles upstream to the lead mine, ten miles down to the Dukesfield smelt mill. Continue reading...

Speaking on Q&A, Christopher Pyne rejects a suggestion that the Coalition’s Direct Action climate policy could operate as a de facto emissions trading scheme, while responding to a question from the audience, Pyne claims the scheme was not intended to work that way. The industry minister and his regular sparring partner, opposition frontbencher Anthony Albanese, were the only two panellists on Monday’s election special, which fell in week three of the eight-week campaign Continue reading...

BBC’s Chris Packham says nature reserves are becoming ‘a bit like art galleries’ while Martin Hughes-Games raises concerns about conservationThe presenters of BBC2’s Springwatch have warned that wildlife programmes are failing to reflect the reality of the natural world.Chris Packham said there was a danger that nature reserves such as the RSPB’s Minsmere in Suffolk, where the new series of Springwatch is based, “become a bit like art galleries or museums where we go to get our fix” when much of the countryside is “largely sterile, too intensively farmed and with very poor biodiversity”. Continue reading...

In Barnaby Rudge, his novel of the Gordon Riots, Charles Dickens gives us a vision of sunlit bliss before the murderous climaxBarnaby and his mother have almost nothing, and Barnaby wants nothing, because he has his pet raven, Grip.“A crust of bread and scrap of meat, with water from the brook or spring, sufficed for their repast. Barnaby’s enjoyments were, to walk, and run, and leap, till he was tired; then to lie down in the long grass or by the growing corn, or in the shade of some tall tree, looking upwards at the light clouds as they floated over the blue surface of the sky, and listening to the lark as she poured out her brilliant song,” wrote Charles Dickens in Barnaby Rudge, his 1841 novel of the Gordon Riots and the burning of Newgate in 1780. Continue reading...

A coalition of organisations have entered into unprecedented joint action to ensure climate change is in the minds of voters on 2 JulyAn unprecedented level of coordination between climate activists and conservation groups is aiming to raise the profile of climate change in this year’s election.A coalition of groups has been organising tactics aimed at engaging both politicians and voters with climate change for the 2 July election. Continue reading...

Council approves shale gas tests in village of Kirby Misperton despite receiving 4,375 objections to the plansFracking is set to take place in Britain for the first time in five years after councillors approved tests in North Yorkshire, sweeping aside thousands of objections from residents and campaigners.Related: How does the fracking debate affect you? Share your experiences Continue reading...

Squid, cuttlefish and their relatives appear to benefit from ‘live fast, die young’ mentality as study shows cephalopods have thrived over past 60 yearsOctopuses, cuttlefish and squid have thrived in the world’s oceans over the last 60 years despite – or because of – human activity that has warmed oceans and reduced fish populations.

While today’s consumers demand all natural products, in the case of perfume, synthetics might prove to be the greener choiceIn a coastal jungle in northern Madagascar, biologist Fanny Rakotoarivelo places a plastic bubble over a branch of papaya flowers. Inside, air currents run through the flowers, sucking out essential oils. The scented air that remains is funneled into another bag, which Rakotoarivelo places inside a metal briefcase. It will be flown and delivered to the German headquarters of Symrise, the second largest flavors and fragrances company in the world, where scientists will attempt to recreate the scent.

Arctic would warm by as much as 20C by 2300 with disastrous impacts if action is not taken on climate change, warns new studyThe planet would warm by searing 10C if all fossil fuels are burned, according to a new study, leaving some regions uninhabitable and wreaking profound damage on human health, food supplies and the global economy.The Arctic, already warming fast today, would heat up even more – 20C by 2300 – the new research into the extreme scenario found. Continue reading...

Drone footage shows around 70 tiger sharks eating a whale in the aptly named Shark Bay, around 500 miles north of Perth, Western Australia. The video was posted to the Eco Abrolhos Facebook page, which operates cruises to nearby islands. Continue reading...

Temperatures in a city in the desert state of Rajasthan have hit 51C (123.8F) – the highest on record in India. A drought has left many villages and towns without regular water. Schools have closed, some hospitals have stopped performing surgery, and in some regions daytime cooking has been banned due to the fire risk Continue reading...

The first of its kind, a new international treaty obliges signatories to intercept pirate fishers before they can sell their catchIn March, the Argentinian coast guard shot at and sank a Chinese vessel that was alleged to be fishing illegally in Argentinian waters (the crew were all rescued). While it’s unclear whether the boat was committing crime, the incident showed that the tension surrounding pirate fishing is reaching a peak, marked elsewhere by increasing conflict, and the detainment and scuttling of illegal fishing fleets. But for pirate fishers, the financial gains appear to be worth these risks.Illegal fishing vessels siphon off up to 26 million tons of illegally caught fish each year, which amounts to over $23bn (£16bn) in profit. This not only deprives legitimate fishers of their catch, but as it’s an unregulated practice, it also undermines the stability of fisheries stocks around the world. Illegal fishing also has a hand in driving already threatened species closer to extinction—like the critically-endangered vaquita, the world’s smallest porpoise, whose fate is rapidly being worsened by illegal fishers in Mexico who tangle and drown the small, protected mammals in their gill nets. Continue reading...

A vote allowing Third Energy to frack for shale gas could pave way for technique to be used across England, critics sayNorth Yorkshire councillors have been urged not to turn the region into “the fracking capital of the UK” before a crucial vote that could pave the way for the technique to be used across England.

UN’s top environmental scientist warns bottles and bags do not break down easily and sink, as report highlights the ubiquity of plastic debris in oceansBiodegradable plastic water bottles and shopping bags are a false solution to the ubiquitous problem of litter in the oceans, the UN’s top environmental scientist has warned.Most plastic is extremely durable, leading to large plastic debris and “microplastics” to spread via currents to oceans from the Arctic to the Antarctic, a UN report published on Monday found. Continue reading...

Takeover would create world’s largest agricultural supplier in the biggest deal ever by a German firmGerman drug and chemicals group Bayer has offered to buy the American GM seed pioneer Monsanto for $62bn (£43bn) in a deal that would create the world’s biggest agricultural supplier.The offer of $122 a share in cash values the Monsanto group at 37% more than its closing share price on 9 May, before rumours of a bid emerged. Continue reading...

In a ‘Pepsi challenge’ test, economist and statisticians find mainstream climate arguments accurate and contrarian arguments wrong and misleading

Councils have issued licences for thousands of animals, research shows, including lions, wolves and crocodilesLions, wolves and deadly venomous snakes are among thousands of dangerous animals being kept on private properties across the UK, figures have revealed.Big cats including 13 tigers, two lions, eight leopards, seven cheetahs and nine pumas are prowling behind the fences of addresses up and down the land, an investigation by the Press Association has found. Continue reading...

Abthorpe, Northamptonshire Blue-purple columns of bugle and the crimped leaves of betony abound“Do you ever get over to the Silverstone area?” queried John in his first email to me. I don’t, but when he then enthused that the rustic parish of Abthorpe “seemed to be a relic of a long disappeared countryside”, he had my attention.South of Abthorpe a network of footpaths traverse straight lines across clayey fields of blossoming yellow oilseed rape and blue-green sprays of wheat. A visually unexceptional landscape perhaps, but an encounter soon hints at more. An unfamiliar voice from the apex of a small hedgerow tree: “Cheeese pleeese” it calls shrilly. And there it is, a neat little lemon-yellow bird with a fine acute bill – a male yellow wagtail. This red-listed insectivore was three times more common in 1970s Britain than it is today. Continue reading...

Internet trading sites host ads for prohibited weeds, with Invasive Species Council warning postal system a ‘big gap’ in quarantine systemAmazon and eBay have been exposed as weak points in Australia’s quarantine system, with the internet trading sites hosting dozens of offers to import the nation’s most dangerous weeds.Any Australian with a credit card can order home delivery of thousands of seeds of gorse, blackberry or cactus. Also available is the Mimosa pigra tree, which the Northern Territory government spends $500,000 each year trying to eradicate from Kakadu national park. Continue reading...

Private club owned by oil giant appealing against judicial review defeat in favour of co-operative renewable energy scheme at Teddington LockShell is involved in blocking the development of a renewable energy project in a legal battle between a private club owned by the company and a community hydropower scheme on the river Thames.The scheme at Teddington lock and weirs has won planning permission and defeated a judicial review from the Lensbury club, but the club is now seeking to appeal against the judicial review decision. Continue reading...

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 27 May 1916Surrey