Three battalions ready to avert crisis after storms last year caused severe damage across north of EnglandTheresa May has placed three battalions of up to 1,200 soldiers on 24-hour standby to help if England suffers flooding this winter.

Energy Transfer Partners says it’s ‘mobilizing drilling equipment’ to tunnel under Lake Oahe, which activists describe as ‘unconscionable and devastating’Support our fearless, independent journalism by making a contribution or becoming a memberThe Dakota Access pipeline operator chose the day of the US presidential election to announce that the final phase of its controversial construction project will begin in two weeks – marking a bold escalation in its response to the Native American protests.Related: Dakota Access pipeline: the who, what and why of the Standing Rock protests Continue reading...

Legislation to be trialled at Lighthouse beach, Sharpes beach and Shelly beach at Ballina, Seven Mile beach at Lennox Head and Evans Head beachFive New South Wales beaches will soon be trialling mesh shark nets under legislation to be fast-tracked into parliament.The legislation will be tabled by the NSW primary industries minister, Niall Blair, on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Groups also plan to undermine government attempts to regulate parts of industry identified by the competition watchdog for price gougingA coalition of natural gas lobby groups are planning a coordinated campaign to convince Australians gas is “a long-term necessity”, top industry lobbyists have revealed.They also disclosed plans to undermine government attempts to regulate sections of the industry that have been identified by the competition watchdog for price gouging by offering the federal environment minister “something he can announce” – but which would not amount to regulation. Continue reading...

Proposal to cut emissions controversially omits several appliances on the grounds that economic benefits would not be worth the negative publicityThe EU has dropped plans to force toaster-makers to improve the energy efficiency of their products over fears of the political costs of being seen to be intruding in people’s daily lives, it has emerged.But while a new EU plan to cut emissions controversially emits several appliances, the manufacturers of electric kettles, refrigerators and hand driers will have to make their future products consume less energy. Continue reading...

Dong Energy chief executive hails ‘inflection point’ as he confirms plan to sell company’s oil and gas divisionWind turbines could soon supply most of the UK’s electricity, the boss of the country’s largest windfarm operator has said, as he confirmed plans to sell its oil and gas division.Dong Energy said the sale would underpin its plan to become a “global leader in renewables”, 44 years after the company was set up to exploit Denmark’s North Sea oilfields. Continue reading...

Dry summer, tighter regulations and more spending by water companies sees 98.5% of beaches monitored by the Environment Agency meet EU standardsEngland’s bathing waters are the cleanest ever recorded thanks to a dry summer, tighter EU regulations and increased spending by water companies.

Activists at the North Dakota pipeline site say they have little faith in either presidential candidate to bring about the kind of change they hope for

Waltham Brooks, West Sussex The bird bobs its squat body up and down, then launches low across the water, the light catching its shimmering backThe still pool reflects the blue sky. The kingfisher sits in the low willow branch. It flicks its tail up and down, up and down, like a switch, while it looks down, transfixed by something in the water below. It suddenly blurs into movement, there’s a splash, and the colourful missile returns to its perch with a tiny silver fish in its bill. It bashes the minnow on the branch twice, and swallows it.Related: Kingfisher bonds will loosen as summer fades Continue reading...

A media conference from Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts sparks debate about how journalists should respond to climate science deniersOn 28 April 1975, Newsweek ran a story on page 64 that became one of its most popular.Under the headline, “The Cooling World”, the story ran for just nine paragraphs but suggested the world could be heading for a major cooling phase, putting food production at risk. Continue reading...

Plane gets priority landing after large serpent appears on ceiling of the cabin before dropping to the floorPassengers on a commercial flight in Mexico were given a start when a serpent appeared in the cabin in a scene straight out of the Hollywood thriller Snakes on a Plane.The green reptile emerged suddenly on an Aeromexico flight from Torreon in the country’s north to Mexico City on Sunday, slithering out from behind an overhead luggage compartment. Continue reading...

In second phase of ‘waste less, save more’ scheme, funding will be extended to other regions to replicate Derbyshire experimentSainsbury’s is stepping up its drive to tackle the UK’s food waste epidemic by announcing a further £1m to help towns and cities reduce the number of items thrown away by consumers.In the second phase of the retailer’s “waste less, save more” programme, which aims to reduce food waste by 50% and save the average household £350 a year, funding is being extended to regions keen to replicate the lessons learned from an ongoing trial in Swadlincote, Derbyshire. Continue reading...

A new study has revealed that female employees who receive more support at work during pregnancy are also more likely to quit after deliveryMarjorie Greenfield has many stories to tell about how employers are failing to create a workplace that encourages women to excel.Greenfield, author of The Working Women’s Pregnancy Book, recalls an interview with a female pilot who worked for an airline that didn’t allow women to fly during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy because of morning sickness and fatigue. The first time the pilot became pregnant, she notified her boss immediately and was taken off work, despite feeling fine. Continue reading...

Reports of Sahara dust in late autumn are a signal to search for birds displaced from the desert and on to our shoresSome Novembers see southern Britain bathed in unseasonably warm sunshine, in that phenomenon known as an Indian summer. But few can match the events of early November 1984, when temperatures reached highs of 19°C, and balmy, southern breezes made it feel more like June than late autumn.Then, on 9 November, car-drivers from Sussex to Yorkshire discovered their cars covered with a thin layer of fine, pale yellow dust. Amazing though it may seem, this really was sand blown here from the Sahara desert, more than 2,500km (1,500 miles) to the south. Continue reading...

Iconic southern coastline is eroding 10 times faster than the past few thousand years due to human management and changes in storm intensityThe iconic white cliffs of southern England are eroding 10 times faster than they have over the past few thousand years, a new study has revealed.The cause of the huge acceleration is likely to be human management of the coastline, which has stripped some cliffs of their protective beaches, as well as changes in storm intensity. Climate change, which is bringing higher sea levels and fiercer waves, will make the erosion even worse, say scientists. Continue reading...

The UK’s largest asset manager will encourage companies to tackle climate change and sell shares in those that do notThe UK’s largest asset manager is to use its muscle as an investor to promote a green agenda by urging companies to tackle climate change and selling shares in those that do not.In a move that echoes a growing belief among investors that climate change poses financial as well as environmental risks, Legal & General Investment Management launched the Future World Fund. Continue reading...

My former colleague Palmer Newbould, who has died aged 87, was a champion of scientific nature conservation, an innovative university teacher and a generous, warm-hearted man with broad interests.His nature conservation work was based mainly in Northern Ireland, where wide-ranging conservation legislation was introduced only in 1965. Palmer served on two statutory committees in the 1970s – the Nature Reserves Committee and Ulster Countryside Committee – before becoming chairman of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside in 1989, for which he was appointed OBE. He was also a Northern Ireland representative on the UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee and served on Ireland’s Nuclear Energy Board. Continue reading...

Research suggests ecological impact assessments carried out for windfarms are not adequately predicting bat activity or risksHundreds of bats are being killed in collisions with wind turbines in the UK each month, despite ecological impact assessments predicting that many windfarms were unlikely to affect such animals, according to a new study.All UK species of bats are protected by law, and ecological impact assessments - carried out before construction of windfarms or other sites - should weigh up the risks for local habitats and wildlife. But new research suggests that such assessments are simply not up to scratch. Continue reading...

ACTU seek federal body to manage move to a clean energy economy and to support workers and communities that rely on fossil fuel-related jobsAustralian unions have thrown their weight behind a transition away from coal-generated electricity, calling for a new statutory authority to manage a “just transition”, supporting workers and communities that rely on fossil fuel-related jobs.

Surcharges of 40% on beef and 20% on milk would compensate for climate damage and deter people from consuming as much unhealthy foodClimate taxes on meat and milk would lead to huge and vital cuts in carbon emissions as well as saving half a million lives a year via healthier diets, according to the first global analysis of the issue.Surcharges of 40% on beef and 20% on milk would account for the damage their production causes people via climate change, an Oxford University team has calculated. These taxes would then deter people from consuming as much of these foods, reducing both emissions and illness, the team said. Continue reading...

Trump’s anti-trade isolationism and Clinton’s Obama-esque policies diverge in how they would approach North Korea’s nuclear weapons or Isis in Syria and Iraq

As the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust celebrates its 70th birthday we would like to see your pictures from around the country – in all seasons

Marrakech summit buoyed by gathering momentum but threatened by the possibility of climate change denier Donald Trump entering the White HouseUN talks to implement the landmark Paris climate pact opened in Marrakech on Monday, buoyed by gathering momentum but threatened by the spectre of climate change denier Donald Trump in the White House.Diplomats from 196 nations are meeting in Morocco to flesh out the planet-saving plan inked in the French capital last December. Continue reading...

When the polls close, a new battle will begin – to resist a racist climate denier, or to force a centrist Democrat to deliver genuinely progressive changePresidential elections are a form of madness that comes over us once every four years. They fit the great-man or -woman narrative of history, seducing us into forgetting how powerful we are. They erase our memory of grassroots power, direct democracy and civil society. Leaders beget followers; people pin their hopes on one person, and with that they seem to shed responsibility for anything beyond getting that one person into office. Or, they wash their hands of any further involvement if it’s not their one person.We forget our own influence, the innumerable times we’ve swayed outcome Continue reading...

From science denial to xenophobia to misogyny, Trump brings out the worst in Americans, and wants to reverse 50 years of progress

We asked readers living in the area to share their thoughts with us, one month on after Lancashire council’s rejection of a fracking site was overturned

‘The officers cautiously unzipped the bag and found this gorgeous boy,’ Queensland police say of Alfred the joeyA woman taken into custody by Queensland police has stunned officers by handing over a baby koala she had been secretly carrying inside a zipped canvas bag.The East Brisbane woman, 50, was asked if she had anything to declare after her arrest on unrelated matters by officers on patrol in the city’s south on Sunday night. She produced the bag, saying it contained a joey. Continue reading...

Despite pressure from students and staff, Harvard leaders have refused to divest

Australian conservationists spent five months obtaining permissions and planning for a captive breeding programme for the Bramble Cay melomys. But when they arrived on the rodent’s tiny, low-lying island, they discovered they were too late.

Environment and climate groups publish final scorecards rating main political parties as Australians prepare to voteIf ever there was going to be a climate change election, surely this was going to be it.As May came and the election date was announced, the implications of the global Paris agreement between more than 190 countries just months earlier were still resonating – the world was moving away from fossil fuels and the challenge to keep global warming well below 2C was agreed. Continue reading...

Report is the first to examine the impact of artificial night-lighting on the seasonal behaviour of plants on a national scaleLight pollution is causing spring to come at least a week earlier in the UK, a new study has revealed.

St Dominic, Tamar Valley A handsome South Devon bull has now joined them, so the cycle will continueA herd of South Devon cattle again graces the fields opposite home. For 30 years the land, with distinctive beech trees on a hedge and an old, freestanding oak, was used mainly for a succession of cereal crops, with annual and ever dearer costs of ploughing, sowing, spraying to control weeds and moulds, and harvesting by combine and straw baler. Marauding pigeons from nearby woods were shot and once there was a mysterious double corn circle that caused consternation and wonder.Over the past few years the new tenant has resown the former arable fields with grasses that have thickened up with regular topping (cutting) and sheep grazing. This year, strong post-and-wire fences have been reinstated against the hedge-banks, and a cattle crush or pen has been installed for sorting the animals and for the obligatory TB tests. Continue reading...

The natural store of helium found in the Rift valley in Tanzania contains an estimated 54bn cubic feet of the noble gas

When mines close in Victoria, local people fear for their future and predict whole towns will die. But if the Coalition and Labor are serious about their climate change targets, are they also ready to replace the lost Australian jobs?Greg Dunn, coffee in hand, has just finished a 12-hour night shift at the Hazelwood power station. He is tired, but in his low-key way, he is resigned, too. He rattles off the members of his family who have worked in the electricity industry in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, a list that almost certainly will end with him.Dunn’s father worked as a boilermaker in the valley. His grandfather worked here too, back in gentler days when electricity was thought an essential service for governments to run. In the valley, it was the state electricity commission (SEC).

Only 14% of men and 30% percent of women in the US use sunscreen – and about one-third of those don’t use enough. Is digestible sunscreen the answer?The US skincare market is expected to reach $11bn by 2018, proving that people are more than willing to pay to keep their skin healthy and looking youthful. But expert advice on how to maintain good skin hasn’t changed much over the years.The bottom line remains: wear sunscreen. Apply it liberally and wear a hat for insurance. Maybe just try to stay in the shade if you can. Continue reading...

Residents from region around Alawa and Mangarrayi lands say they weren’t properly consulted about work by Gina Rinehart-linked companyAn Aboriginal community is calling for a halt to exploratory drilling preparations on their traditional lands by a Gina Rinehart-linked company, claiming they weren’t properly consulted by the peak body representing them.However, the chief executive of the Northern Land Council (NLC), has defended his organisation, and blames the “confusion” on a two-year delay between traditional owners giving permission and the permits being granted, as well as “intervention by third-party groups”. Continue reading...

New report says Flint water crisis is not an anomaly, as analysis reveals 5,363 water systems – providing drinking water to 18 million – breached federal lawsMore than 18 million Americans are served drinking water by providers that have violated federal laws concerning lead in water, with only a tiny proportion of offenses resulting in any penalty, a new report has found.

Fears had been raised that EU referendum would result in deadline being missed but sources say carbon budget will be agreedMinisters will this week approve a world-leading carbon emissions reduction target for the early 2030s, the Guardian understands.Fears had been raised by green groups and industry that the EU referendum would cause the UK government to miss a deadline on Thursday for accepting carbon targets from its statutory climate advisers. Continue reading...

The overall awards winners have been announced in the 2016 Atkins Ciwem environmental photographer of the year competition, an annual international showcase for thought-provoking photography and video that tackles a wide range of environmental themes. A shortlist of 60 images has also been chosen from more than 10,000 entries for an exhibition that will run at the Royal Geographical Society, London, from 29 June to 22 August 2016. Continue reading...

After a rocky start, the American solar market is taking off. What will it take to make it go truly mainstream?Solar energy in the US has had a rocky existence. Ever since Ronald Reagan symbolically removed Jimmy Carter’s solar panels from the White House roof in 1986, federal policy has been unpredictable, such that manufacturers and consumers could never depend on reliable incentives to produce and install solar energy systems.Remarkably, the US solar energy industry is now entering what may be its most prosperous decade ever, thanks to a new wave of federal and state policies and positive economics in the industry, both at home and abroad. Continue reading...

Department of Justice says carmaker will pay billions to settle claims generated by emissions rigging scandal and buy cars from consumers at pre-scandal pricesVolkswagen has agreed to pay $14.7bn to settle claims generated by its emissions rigging scandal and to buy back cars from consumers at pre-scandal prices, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.Related: Volkswagen's handling of emissions scandal a shambles, say investors Continue reading...

Christiana Figueres tells business leaders that Brexit vote is not an obstacle to continued cooperation between Britain and the EU on global warmingBritain must continue to be a world leader when it comes to acting on global warming despite the EU referendum result last week, the UN’s climate chief has urged.

Christiana Figueres says the UK can still be a leader on climate change and emphasises the need for the country to ‘stay calm and transform on’Britain’s decision to leave the European Union was not a vote against climate change, nor was it a vote against the innovation key to fighting climate change, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres told an audience of business and policymakers at the annual Business & Climate summit in London today.Related: EU out vote puts UK commitment to Paris climate agreement in doubt Continue reading...

German energy firm will not make fresh plans until the UK’s European relationship becomes clearer, but existing manufacturing will not be affectedSiemens is putting new wind power investment plans in the UK on hold due to uncertainty caused by last week’s Brexit vote, the Germany energy company has told the Guardian.

Scientists hope new information will help protect the little-understood whale population that feeds and travels through the city’s watersThe habits of New York’s little-understood whale population are to be fully analysed for the first time, with scientists hoping the new information will help protect the marine behemoths that navigate one of the busiest shipping areas in the world.

The Thames estuary is home to the world’s largest offshore wind farm – a model for exploiting the potential of Britain’s gusty coastlinesAt the widest point of the Greater Thames estuary, 12 miles north of the Kent coast and 12 miles south of Essex, lies the London Array – the largest operational offshore wind farm in the world. Completed in 2013, after 10 years of planning and construction, it covers an area of 40 square miles – roughly the same size of Bristol – and comprises 175 individual turbines laid out in neat rows like an enormous nursery flower bed.It's a mature technology, and it’s a very effective way of installing new power on to the grid Continue reading...

Fisheries chiefs and campaigners say current catch quotas will continue until the UK leaves the EU, and new arrangements may not be more generousBritish fishermen have been warned that, despite the promises made by the leave campaign, they cannot expect to be granted greater catches after the UK leaves the European Union, and they may face increased economic turmoil.Fishermen will have to remain within their current catch quotas while the UK is still a member, and even if new arrangements are negotiated after a Brexit, they will not necessarily be more generous, fisheries chiefs and campaigners have warned. Continue reading...

Cecil’s death could spark a global rethink on how to protect lions – ending Africa’s dependence on hunting revenues to sustain wildlife habitats and crucial conservation projectsThe tiny lion cubs bounce down the dusty track alive with curiosity about their new world from their inquisitive faces to the tips of their tails. This new life is a symbol of the surprising good that has stemmed from the tragic death of their grandfather, Cecil.

Private sector needs to work in Africa, Asia and Latin America to drive down carbon emissions, Christiana Figueres to tell business and climate summit“Universal support” is needed from businesses across the world to tackle global warming, the United Nations climate chief says.

Analysts say Brexit will create uncertainty for energy sector, which could hit £20bn investment a year needed to replace ageing, dirty power plantsThe UK’s challenge to build a clean, secure and affordable energy system has become significantly harder amid the political and economic turmoil following the nation’s vote to leave the European Union.