Environment | The Guardian

ExxonMobil and others pursued research into technologies, yet blocked government efforts to fight climate change for more than 50 years, findings showThe forerunners of ExxonMobil patented technologies for electric cars and low emissions vehicles as early as 1963 – even as the oil industry lobby tried to squash government funding for such research, according to a trove of newly discovered records.Patent records reveal oil companies actively pursued research into technologies to cut carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change from the 1960s – including early versions of the batteries now deployed to power electric cars such as the Tesla. Continue reading...

Illegal fishing robs the world’s oceans of 26m tons of seafood annually. Now, a new international treaty aims to make it tougher for thievesIn the time it takes you to read this sentence, nearly 10,000 lbs of fish will be stolen from the world’s oceans. Illegal fishing, which accounts for up to 26m tons of seafood annually, robs legitimate fishers and governments of revenue, undermines the accuracy of fisheries’ stock assessments and threatens the stability of coastal communities that rely on the legal trade.Related: Off the hook: can a new study in the Pacific reel in unsustainable fishing? Continue reading...

Every year at the shareholders’ annual meeting, there is an attempt to push the company on reducing emissions. It’s time to stop trying and divest insteadIn 1990, a small group of investors offered a resolution at Exxon’s annual shareholder’s meeting asking that it “develop a company-wide plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.” The company opposed the motion, which won 6% of the vote, on the grounds that “the facts today and the projection of future effects are very unclear.”

A fleeing giraffe, a sleeping racoon and a close encounter with a great white shark are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Japanese company and US construction group Bechtel offer rival proposal to French firm EDF’s plans for Hinkley Point C reactorHitachi has unveiled a construction consortium to build a £10bn nuclear power station in Wales “on time and on budget”, as a rival to the French-backed plans for Hinkley Point C.

At the International Centre for Birds of Prey in Gloucestershire, about 75 species are cared for, including hawks, eagles and falcons. As well as treating injured wild birds, the centre focuses on breeding and conservation Continue reading...

They’ve been called ‘the beast of destruction’ and ‘the abortion issue of wildlife’, but efforts to save the wolf’s population – and perception – are worth celebratingSome species are eliminated through sheer human carelessness, as we clumsily attempt to mould the world in our image. America’s gray wolf, on the other hand, was almost gleefully wiped out, exterminated with a visceral mixture of disgust and fear.Related: Wolf population reaches new high at Yellowstone park Continue reading...

Ryedale residents tell councillors they do not want to be the first place in the UK to allow frackingPeople living close to a proposed fracking operation in North Yorkshire have told councillors they do not want to be the first community in the UK to allow the controversial gas extraction technique.

Leading Monsanto, Dow and Syngenta products could be withdrawn from shops by July after committee fails to agree on whether glyphosate poses a health risk to humansBestselling weedkillers by Monsanto, Dow and Syngenta could be removed from shops across Europe by July, after an EU committee failed for a second time to agree on a new license for its core ingredient, glyphosate.The issue has divided EU nations, academics and the World Health Organisation (WHO) itself. One WHO agency found it to be “probably carcinogenic to humans” while another ruled that glyphosate was unlikely to pose any health risk to humans, in an assessment shaded by conflict of interests allegations earlier this week. Continue reading...

Aung San Suu Kyi’s new government must safeguard the ocean from illegal fishing that has depleted stocks by 70-90% and is killing endangered sea turtles and dugongsAs Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) engaged in a historic transfer of power in the Myanmar capital of Naypyidaw in March, my Burmese colleagues and I stood on a deserted beach 170 miles to the southwest, near Gwa on the Rakhine coast. We were speaking to local fishermen about their livelihoods and hearing about the unfortunate death of a young dugong – southeast Asia’s cousin of the manatee.

The previous record of 50.6C stood since 1956 but wilted in the latest summer heatwave to hit the countryA city in northern India has shattered the national heat record, registering a searing 51C – the highest since records began – amid a nationwide heatwave.

The team behind the next generation of sustainable buildings, including Sydney’s Barangaroo, aim to promote wellness along with preventing environmental harmHidden beneath Federation Square, the heart of civic Melbourne, is a complex labyrinth of concrete cells.This labyrinth – the world’s largest de-coupled airside thermal storage system –acts like a rechargeable battery. On summer evenings it stores cool night air to use during warm days and, in winter, daytime heat to use at night.The apparatus was inspired by Roman bath and cave systems used more than 2,000 years ago that fed naturally cooled air to ancient villas in northern Italy. Continue reading...

Must of us ignore our environmental responsibilities at work, largely because of a lack of control, responsibility or financial interest“I know I should be bothered but I just can’t be”, said a colleague recently as they threw some paper towards the bin, “it’s weird really because at home we’re fastidious about recycling and all that … but at work I just don’t bother.” In one sentence highlighting how hard it can be to encourage employees to be as environmentally friendly in the workplace as they are in their own homes.As an academic interested in employee environmental behaviour I often find myself encouraging colleagues to be more environmentally friendly. However, research confirms that employees act worse at work because they don’t have a financial interest (most don’t even know the energy spend of their organisation), equipment is often shared so there can be a lack of responsibility and employees can’t control many of the elements that could make a difference to energy and resources use, such as heating or lighting. Continue reading...

Kinder Scout, Derbyshire Something metallic, coppery bronze, slinks off, a mercurial blur that is a common lizardIn bright sunshine I find myself on Kinder Scout, toiling up the slope towards the broken tower of Upper Tor, craning my neck at a clever, sinuous, rock climb that takes the leaning crest of its most prominent buttress.This Peak District route was first done in 1936, the creation of Arthur Birtwistle, a stalwart member of that hardy Manchester institution the Rucksack Club whose members have generally spent so long exploring the gritstone edges fringing the city that the grit has entered their souls. Continue reading...

Levels of CO2 are pushing beyond 400 parts per million in the atmosphere. The last time they were there, 15 million years ago, the world was very differentRound numbers can trigger all sorts of weird and sometimes irrational responses.For example, in about 19 years time when I turn 40 there’ll be some sort of celebration at which I’m told I have reached a milestone. The number can also trigger denial in those afflicted (I honestly wouldn’t know*). Continue reading...

Radish tops can be used in soups and pretty much any sad vegetable or fruit can be rescued by pureeing – submit your tips for ‘zero waste’ cookingIn the never-ending string of “days attached to apparent causes”, Friday is Food Revolution Day, pioneered by the high-profile happy chappy Jamie Oliver, friend to all but sugar.Youth Food Movement Australia, which organises volunteer-run food projects across the country, says the amount of food thrown out by one household annually equates to one in five bags and costs $1,000 a year.

Regulator admits risks but recommends Trudeau government approve project to ramp up shipping of tar sands crude via Salish Sea tribal fishing groundsCanada’s energy regulators have recommended the approval of the Trans Mountain oil sands pipeline, which has drawn environmental and tribal protests over the dramatic increase it would mean to the number of oil tankers moving through the waters between the US and Canada.The National Energy Board recommended the federal government conditionally approve Kinder Morgan Canada’s plan to nearly triple pipeline capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels of crude oil a day. The $5.4bn Trans Mountain project would carry oil from Alberta ’s oil sands to near Vancouver, British Columbia, to be loaded on to tankers for export to Asian and US markets. It would mean a sevenfold increase to shipping through the Salish Sea. Continue reading...

Energy subsidies designed to keep lights on and support low-carbon electricity will have risen 124% by 2020-21, review findsHouseholds will be paying £100 more for their annual bills within five years to fund four government policies designed to keep the lights on and support low-carbon electricity, according to a review.Independent consultancy Cornwall Energy said energy subsidies will have risen by 124% by 2020-21 due to the cost of the capacity market, renewable obligations, contracts for difference and feed-in tariff schemes. Continue reading...

Baby death statistics | House prices surge | Spending a penny | How to greet a hareDividing a small rate of deaths in the worst area by the even smaller rate in the best areas makes the worst look twice as bad (UK baby deaths ‘still influenced by where you live’, 17 May). But 99.21% of babies survive in the worst areas and 99.59% in the best areas. (Infant mortality is expressed as per 1,000 births precisely because it is so low, so a difference of less than 10 per thousand equates to less than a 1% difference.) If employment rates or exam results were this close, governments would call it a great success.

Radical action is needed to combat increasing rate of environmental damage to water sources, land, biodiversity and marine life, report showsDegradation of the world’s natural resources by humans is rapidly outpacing the planet’s ability to absorb the damage, meaning the rate of deterioration is increasing globally, the most comprehensive environmental study ever undertaken by the UN has found.The study, which involved 1,203 scientists, hundreds of scientific institutions and more than 160 governments brought together by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), concludes that without radical action the level of prosperity that millions of people in the developed world count on will be impossible to maintain or extend to poorer countries. Continue reading...

Australian conservationists warn that Pixar sequel could increase pressure on marine populations, after the first film led to surge in popularity of pet clownfishAustralian conservationists have warned that the release of new Pixar film Finding Dory could increase pressure on wild populations of exotic fish on the Great Barrier Reef and elsewhere.Researchers from the University of Queensland and Flinders University teamed up a decade ago for the Saving Nemo Conservation Fund, named after the Disney-owned studio’s 2003 animated smash Finding Nemo, in which a clownfish searches the oceans for his missing son. Continue reading...

Researchers have found people will act in a more environmentally helpful way when they consider what kind of legacy they hope to leave behindIn the face of an overwhelming amount of data suggesting that climate change poses an immediate and catastrophic threat to our very existence, we remain largely inert. The stakes truly could not get any higher, yet many of us steadfastedly refuse to change our behaviour.What’s it going to take? Continue reading...

Head of Cuadrilla’s warning to UK energy minister over ‘unnecessary delays’ comes ahead of Yorkshire shale gas planning decisionThe backers of fracking in the UK do not have “limitless patience” for planning delays, according to a leading industry boss.Francis Egan, chief executive of Cuadrilla, warned that despite the government’s promise to fast track fracking, the planning process remains a slow lane. The comments come just ahead of a planning decision in Yorkshire on Third Energy’s application for shale gas exploration. Continue reading...

Goats, which naturally like weeds such as poison ivy and can eat up to 25 pounds a day, are cleaning up Prospect Park with no negative environmental impactOverexcited children and reporters mill around the fence enclosing part of the Prospect Park woodlands. “Daddy, daddy, look!” one eager little boy yells. Everyone is craning their necks, raising their cameras to get a shot. The latest celebrities to grace Brooklyn are a group of eight weed-eating goats, and they are taking up residency through the end of the summer.Later this week, Prospect Park has arranged a wine and cheese reception so the public can formally meet the goats, which range from Nubian to Angora and Pygmy breeds. Tickets have already sold out. While the press photographers jockey for space with toddlers, the goats seem unfazed by the attention, posing for photos or placidly dozing off in sunny spots on the hill. Continue reading...

About 3,000 British schools are in areas where air quality is poor, with those in poorer communities suffering more

Despite our professed concern for bees, a YouGov poll for Friends of the Earth found that most of us can’t recognise a honey bee. Take the green group’s quiz to see how much you know• The Great British Bee Count take place from 19 May-30 JuneHow many different species of bees are in the UK?13100250-plusWhich of these foods is not pollinated by bees?StrawberriesRiceApplesAlmondsBees pollinate what percentage of the world's main crops?25%33%75%90%How many of the UK’s bee species make honey?13100250+When bees visit plants what are they after?WaterScentMating ritualPollenWhich of these items of clothing depends on pollination by bees?Silk tie and scarfCotton jeans and socksWoolly jumperPolyester walking gearWhat is the main cause of bee decline?PesticidesHabitat lossDiseaseClimate changeHow can I most help bees?Grow different plants for bees to visit all year roundDeck your patio areaMow the lawnUse a pesticide to get rid of aphidsWhich one of the following do you think is the honey bee?Tawny Mining BeeHoney BeeBumblebeeHoverfly5 and above.Not bad.8 and above.Buzzing brilliant!0 and above.Oh dear. Continue reading...

Climate scientists are feeling the need to engage in social leadership before it’s too late

Museum temporarily closes as activists hang huge banners renaming the new BP-sponsored Sunken Cities Egypt exhibition as ‘Sinking Cities’Greenpeace activists have climbed the British Museum and have hung banners off its columns in protest at BP’s sponsorship of its new ancient Egypt exhibition.The museum was temporarily closed for around four hours on Thursday during the protest because of “visitor safety reasons.” Continue reading...

Taskforce will work with farming leaders and government to replace and reduce antibiotic use for livestockA new taskforce to reduce the use of antibiotics in farming in the UK is being set up in response to government concerns on the growing resistance of diseases to antibiotic medicines.The alliance for the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) said it would work with organisations including farming leaders, food companies and government to find ways to replace antibiotic use where possible, and reduce it where not. Continue reading...

The richest and poorest residents of Argentina’s capital are separated by the walls of gated communities. When heavy rains in 2013 left those outside the barriers vulnerable to severe flooding, their only hope was to tear them down

£2m scheme by Hounslow council on Western International Market will be biggest solar scheme by any local authority, and use batteries to store energyA London council is unveiling a vast installation of 6,000 solar panels on a wholesale market rooftop, which it says is the largest such array put up by a local authority.The London Borough of Hounslow says its £2m investment in solar, which has been installed on the roof of Western International Market, is also the first by a council to adopt battery storage to maximise the power from the panels.

Thorsgill wood, Teesdale At the first touch of my fingers the vine weevil fell to the ground and pretended to be deadThe vine weevil must have crawled on to my sleeve when I sat down among the fading primroses to re-tie my bootlace. At the first touch of my fingers it fell to the ground and pretended to be dead.There’s a name for this stress-induced immobility in animals: thanatosis, after Thanatos, the ancient Greek deity of death. Its most famous exponents are opossums, whose behaviour gave rise to the phrase “playing possum”. But weevils are well equipped for this deception too. All they need do is tuck their legs under their barrel-shaped bodies, then they naturally roll on to their backs. Being flightless and ponderous walkers they have no other options when threatened. Continue reading...

For areas on the wrong side of a boom, ‘jobs and growth’ makes sense – in the absence of a better-articulated vision for northern Australia, symbolism mattersI’m back in Townsville for a family funeral. The relationship between the present and the past is at the top of my mind. Right now, all that means is I’m finding it hard to envision the future of the city I see around me. I’m not the only one.I didn’t make it to Malcolm Turnbull’s press conference – there are arrangements to be made, relatives to visit. In any case, in local media he’s been inescapable. Continue reading...

The senator who started out as an anti-pokies campaigner is likely to be leading a new, significant political force after the pollIf Malcolm Turnbull wins the election, Nick Xenophon could help him introduce emissions trading, stop some of his company tax cuts, frustrate his attempts to cut Gonski schools funding and stall some of his sweeping changes to superannuation. If Bill Shorten wins, Xenophon could force big changes to Labor’s centrepiece policy on negative gearing.

Norway issues licences for fresh areas of exploration for the first time in 20 years as part of what minister calls ‘a new chapter’ for petroleum industryNorway awarded Arctic drilling licences to 13 oil companies on Wednesday, including in a hitherto unexplored part of the Barents Sea, drawing condemnation from environmental groups.Related: Licence to drill: Centrica awarded rights to explore Barents Sea Continue reading...

Districts with nearly 40m will compare water supply and demand assuming that dry conditions will stretch for three years, but some say it’s a tough decisionCalifornia decided Wednesday to allow hundreds of local water districts to set their own conservation goals after a wet winter eased the five-year drought in some parts of the state.The new approach lifts a statewide conservation order enacted last year that requires at least a 20% savings. Continue reading...

This election is Australia’s last chance to save the reef, which requires $1bn a year for 10 years to reduce water pollution to give it a chance to survive climate change, report warnsThe 2016 Australian election is the last opportunity to save the Great Barrier Reef, the authors of a new scientific paper have warned.The government needs to commit to $1bn a year for 10 years to reduce water pollution, which would give the reef a chance to survive the impacts of climate change, according to the paper published in the journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Continue reading...

The more than 88,000 Fort McMurray residents evacuated during the wildfire must wait until June to begin a phased re-entry plan, says Alberta premierThe wildfire in northern Alberta continues to rage out of control, growing to more than 423,000 hectares as officials said it would be at least another two weeks before the tens of thousands of evacuated Fort McMurray residents would be allowed to return to the city.

The kiteboard and duck hunting club rebuilt levies, added two helipads, and created a lounge area on the tiny island near Silicon Valley without a permitAn exclusive kiteboarding club on a tiny island – just a 15-minute helicopter ride away from Silicon Valley – has been threatened with a $4.6m fine by a California state water agency, which is accusing the club’s owner of damaging tidal wetlands.Since purchasing the tiny island, the Point Buckler Club, in 2011, John Sweeney, a former professional sailor and advertising executive, has rebuilt levies, added two helipads, and built a lounge area featuring dark green shipping containers, astroturf, a wood burning stove, and bright orange styling to achieve what he describes on Facebook as a “Sunset Magazine look circa 1960s”. Continue reading...

Almost 90% of Americans throw away food prematurely. Two bills introduced in Congress today aim to avoid confusion by simplifying food labelingThe US Senate and the House of Representatives today introduced bills to clarify the rules regarding expiration date labels on food. The current labeling system means an estimated 8m lbs of food is thrown away prematurely every year.The bills, from Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep Chellie Pingree (D-ME), aim to standardize America’s food date labeling system. Instead of the many different dates currently in use, the new system would have just two – one to indicate peak quality and another for use on products, such as deli meat and unpasteurized cheese, that could make people ill if eaten after a certain date. Continue reading...

A protest planned outside the company headquarters in Sydney will be matched by others around the world by people affected by Glencore minesThe McArthur River mine in the Northern Territory – one of the world’s biggest zinc, lead and silver mines – must shut immediately and owner Glencore must cover the clean-up costs, say traditional owners who will protest outside the company’s headquarters in Sydney on Thursday. Continue reading...

Owner of British Gas criticised by Greenpeace for risking safety by drilling in Alaskan ArcticCentrica has walked into new controversy by obtaining a licence to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic.The owner of British Gas, fresh from rows over annual domestic energy profits, has been awarded rights to explore in the Barents Sea off Norway. Continue reading...

Adam Ramsay’s sincerity cannot be doubted (The Greens can still reshape Britain’s political landscape, 17 May). He eloquently puts the case for a better society. The problem is the way he proposes to get there.Despite statements to the contrary, the Green party has never been a leftwing party. Common ownership of the means of production is not party policy. It does share common values of fairness and mutualism with liberals, social democrats and some socialists. But that doesn’t of itself make the party leftwing. Continue reading...

London is one of the most polluted cities in Europe. We cannot keep this under wraps if we are to address the problem (Johnson ‘buried’ study linking toxic air and deprived schools, 17 May).The dangerously high pollution levels in the city are harmful to everyone – they’re associated with asthma, premature births, lung cancer and heart disease. For children though, the risk is even higher. Their exposure to air pollution is much greater than adults’, and studies show that they absorb pollutants and retain them in the body for longer. Continue reading...

The Church of England’s Shrinking the Footprint campaign is encouraging dioceses, cathedrals and parishes to reduce energy bills and lower carbon emissions through practical steps, from installing energy-efficient lightbulbs to switching to renewable energy (Blessed be the solar roof installers, Letters, 17 May).More than 400 churches, church buildings and vicarages already have solar panels installed, with other developments including the first carbon-neutral churches. Other measures adopted have included the installation of ground source heat pumps in some churches. Continue reading...

Country’s low emissions action plan cannot be undone even by a Donald Trump presidency, but it may put global cooperation on climate change at riskThe US would still meet its obligations under the Paris accord on climate change if Donald Trump were elected president, a senior US administration official has told the Guardian.He said the path of the US towards a lower-carbon economy was already set, and was dependent on market forces that would not easily succumb to political tinkering. Continue reading...

US brands are increasingly turning to recycled nylon to make everything from outerwear to skateboardsThree years ago, David Stover, Ben Kneppers and Kevin Ahearn quit their jobs in finance and co-founded Bureo, a Los Angeles-based company that makes skateboards and sunglasses from recycled nylon.Related: Recycling old fishing nets to limit environmental damage Continue reading...

Arson attacks and eviction at gunpoint for plantations driving many to despair and take their own livesThe small Apy Ka’y community of around 150 Guarani Indians has lived in squalor by the side of Highway BR 463 in southern Brazil since 2009. Since then, they have been forced out three times by unknown gunmen, had their makeshift camp burned down twice by arsonists and three young people from the group have killed themselves.

Women now hold six of the most influential positions at global climate talks, but can they make a difference on the ground? Climate Home reportsWhisper it quietly, but a gender revolution is taking place at the global climate change negotiations.As of 17 May, the six most influential positions within the UN process are all held by women, a significant increase on last year’s total of two. Continue reading...

Thanks to the great western commons, which the Bundys and their legislative champions would like to dismantle, all Americans still enjoy the freedom to roam on some of the most spectacular lands on the planetIt goes without saying that in a democracy, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. The trouble starts when people think they are also entitled to their own facts.