Environment | The Guardian

Protected areas and habitats are being downgraded and delisted so often, to accommodate mining, logging or population growth, the problem even has its own acronym. Environment 360 reportsIt’s the saddest truism in wildlife conservation: When politicians announce that they are setting aside precious habitat “in perpetuity”, what they really mean is until somebody else wants the land.Protected areas now get reopened so often under the pressure of population and economic growth that the trend has spawned an acronym, PADDD, for “protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement.” There’s also a web site, PADDDtracker.org, jointly maintained by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Conservation International. Continue reading...

Whether or not the practices are safe, some wonder why companies are pouring resources into an area that so many are trying to innovate out of existence

Analysis of the huge news and online response to his death could offer conservationists an opportunity to turn the ‘Cecil moment’ into a ‘Cecil movement’, reports Conservation MagazineWhen the story of Cecil the lion’s death at the hands of an American hunter hit the media, the global response was “the largest reaction in the history of wildlife conservation,” according to a new paper. Researchers from Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (or WildCRU, the same organization that had tracked the lion since 2009) analyzed the traditional and social media response to the hunting incident. They found that a combination of elements in the story may have made it go viral in a different way than the average internet sensation. And conservationists may subsequently have a golden opportunity to transform the “Cecil moment” into a “Cecil movement”.To recap the sequence of events around Cecil’s death: Around 10pm on 1 July 2015, a hunter from Minnesota named Walter Palmer sent an arrow into the side of a 13-year-old male African lion nicknamed ‘Cecil’ on privately owned property outside of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. This arrow failed to kill the beast, but the second one, shot some 11 hours later, did. Continue reading...

Dry farming forgoes modern irrigation and, farmers say, produces much tastier crops. In a drought-stricken state, should others follow suit?There’s something different about Will Bucklin’s grape vines. At first it’s hard to notice, but a drive through northern California’s Sonoma Valley, past waves of green, manicured vineyards, makes it clear. The black ribbon of PVC irrigation pipe that typically threads the vines is curiously absent here – because Will doesn’t water his crops.Bucklin’s Old Hill Ranch, purchased by his stepfather Otto Teller in 1980, claims to be the oldest-rooted vineyard in the area. Teller fell in love with the vineyard because it was one of the few that still “dry-farmed”. Dry farming is a method that bypasses artificial irrigation, relying instead on seasonal rainfall and working the soil in such a way that it holds on to water for the drier months. Continue reading...

If we want to reduce emissions, cities are key. But they need to be empowered if they are to have an impactThe Paris climate agreement, already signed by more than 175 countries, was successful in large part because national governments recognized cities’ progress in reducing carbon emissions. On Thursday, as world leaders gather in Washington DC to discuss how to reach the goals set in Paris, they should focus on helping cities do even more, and act faster, to reduce those emissions.Cities account for most of the world’s carbon emissions, and their share will continue to increase as cities increase in size. Today more than half of the world lives in cities, and by 2050, two-thirds will. Every day, the world’s cities grow by about 60 square kilometers – an area equal to New York City’s borough of Manhattan. Continue reading...

Storms and rising sea levels could break up old rubbish dumps in England and Wales releasing potentially toxic waste, study showsOver 1,000 old landfill sites on the coasts of England and Wales are at increasing risk of being breached by erosion, according to a new study, posing a serious pollution danger to wildlife and bathing waters.Landfill sites before the mid-1990s had few or no restrictions about what rubbish could be dumped in them and little is known about what they contain. But many were on the coast and some were used to raise land levels and even as part of flood defences. Climate change is bringing higher sea levels and stronger storms, putting the old dumps at greater risk of being broken up. Continue reading...

Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways’ owner, says ministers should not be bound to third runway proposalThe alternative, cheaper scheme to expand Heathrow airport should be put back on the table if the government gives the go-ahead for a new runway, according to the boss of British Airways’ owner.Willie Walsh, the chief executive of IAG, whose airlines, including BA, operate the majority of services at Heathrow, said he did not expect a decision soon – but the “prohibitive costs” meant ministers should not be bound to the airport’s own proposals for a third, north-west runway.

Climate change is a problem that cannot wait, 20 backbenchers say in their statement to PM, urging him to accept cuts in greenhouse gas emissionsTwenty Conservative MPs have written to the prime minister urging him to accept the steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions required by the UK’s ‘fifth carbon budget’.On the eve of local elections in several regions, and the poll for the next London mayor, the MPs have made a strong statement that climate change is a problem that cannot wait. Continue reading...

National Geographic is inviting entries to its annual travel photographer of the year award. You can find details of how to enter here and the competition closes on 27 May 2016. Here is a small selection of photographs already submitted. Continue reading...

EU proposal seeks to close a legal loophole allowing the sale of endangered lizards in Europe after a Guardian article revealed the scale of the problemEurope has moved to close a loophole that allows wildlife smugglers to trade in several endangered lizard species, after revelations by the Guardian about the scale of the problem.An EU proposal to strictly regulate the trade in arboreal alligator lizards (Abronia), backed by Mexico, will be debated at the Convention on international trade in endangered species (Cites) conference, which opens in Johannesburg this autumn. Continue reading...

The Clean Energy Regulator has bought up 50.5m tonnes of carbon abatement but there are doubts over how effective this will be in reaching Paris agreement targetsThe government has now spent two-thirds of its emissions reduction fund but has only achieved 7% of the emissions cuts it would need to reach its 2030 target, according to analysts.Today the Clean Energy Regulator announced the results of its third Emissions Reduction Fund auction, the centrepiece of government climate policy by which it pays polluters to pollute less. Continue reading...

Wolsingham, Weardale The butterbur brings to mind strawberry ice-cream cones, and to the bees it has the same irresistible sweetnessIf we had been standing among these riverside alders four months ago we would have been swept away. This low-lying stretch of the bank of the river Wear is inundated by flood water every winter, and debris was still trapped in the lower branches above our heads. Continue reading...

Former premier supports legislation, which has cross-party backing, as well as campaign by dolphin advocacy group to end captivity at the state’s only dolphin park in Coffs HarbourA legislative bid to abolish dolphin captivity in New South Wales, targeting the remaining park in the state in Coffs Harbour, has gained cross-party support as well as that of the former premier Bob Carr.More than 85,000 people have already backed advocacy group Australia for Dolphins’ appeal to premier Mike Baird to end dolphin captivity in the state since it launched on 9 April. Continue reading...

Schools face water shortages and government says entire nation is affected as rainy season is forecast to be delayed by monthsBehind a clutch of huts that hug the major route between Cambodia’s capital and its famed Angkor temples, rice farmers Phem Phean and Sok Khoert peer into a cement hollow.Related: Armed guards at India's dams as drought grips country Continue reading...

Federal government confirms $171m allocated to the reef is recycled funding and focuses on water quality not climate changeAll the $171m in funding announced in the budget for the Great Barrier Reef has come from other environmental programs, which already had significant amounts directed at conserving the reef, it emerged on Thursday.It was also revealed that a large portion of the reallocated money will not be available for the reef until 2019, coinciding with when Unesco is scheduled to reconsider whether to categorise the reef as “in danger”. Continue reading...

Study finds only 1% of cities in world have such high levels of pollution that the activities could prove detrimental to healthThe health benefits of cycling and walking outweigh the harm from inhaling air loaded with traffic fumes in all but the world’s most polluted cities, according to a study.An international team of researchers who have modelled the effects say only 1% of cities in the world have such high levels of air pollution that cycling or walking could make a person’s health worse. Continue reading...

The need for fossil fuels is destroying regions and communities, causing war and famine in the process, argues the activist and authorClimate change is spawning injustice, racism, intolerance and wars, according to author and political activist Naomi Klein.

Thousands of residents were ordered to flee the oil sands city in Alberta as a wildfire swept through, destroying entire neighbourhoods Continue reading...

Energy spokesman Adam Bandt says program – estimated to cost $2.9bn – could be funded by scrapping concessions to fossil fuel-intensive industriesThe Greens want millions of households to install renewable energy storage units, saying battery storage could “revolutionise” Australia’s energy system.They have announced a five-year support package for 1.2m homes and 30,000 businesses, to encourage the take-up of solar storage across Australia. Continue reading...

Accelerated acidification of coastal waters has brought about structural decline of only reef in continental US, initially pegged by scientists at around 2050Florida’s coral reefs are disintegrating far more quickly than previously thought, with warming, acidifying oceans causing a “wasting away” of the coral structures that support an abundance of marine life, new research has found.Scientists had previously thought that Florida’s reef, the only barrier reef in the continental US, wouldn’t start to break up until around 2050. But recent analysis shows that this process is already under way in parts of the reef system, driven by accelerating climate change. Continue reading...

In the run-up to the city polls incumbent George Ferguson and Labour’s Marvin Rees accuse one another of ‘establishment’ biasThe two main candidates in the race to become mayor of Bristol – one of the key electoral tests for Labour on Thursday – have each claimed the other is the “establishment” figure.Marvin Rees, the Labour candidate, accused George Ferguson, the charismatic red trouser-wearing independent who has held the position for the past four years, of being a member of a wealthy elite group that had controlled Bristol for decades. Continue reading...

Fracking has led to hundreds of billions of gallons of waste full of toxic chemicals – yet the process is hardly subject to any standards, coalition saysFrack waste has triggered earthquakes from Ohio to Oklahoma, and fouled rivers in Pennsylvania to North Dakota – and now the Obama administration is being sued by environmental groups to crack down on the industry.A coalition of environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday to demand a strong uniform standard for the transportation, storage and disposal of frack waste. Continue reading...

Mining subsidiary Samarco blamed for country’s worst environmental tragedy, which left 19 dead, but critics say legal case is politically motivatedThe mining group BHP Billiton and its partner Vale are facing a 155bn reais (£30bn) claim from Brazilian prosecutors over an iron ore mine dam collapse last year that released a torrent of toxic mud, killing 19 people and leaving 700 homeless.

As Barack Obama visits Flint, Michigan on Wednesday, will he take a strong stand against those in his administration who failed to keep people safe?

As the wildlife presenter approaches his 90th birthday, we take a look at some of his most awe-inspiring work – from meeting a cannibal tribe to cuddling gorillasTo celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s 90th birthday on 8 May, wildlife television producer Stephen Moss has chosen his top 10 TV moments featuring the great man. Enjoy. Continue reading...

As the water crisis enters its third year, the president is on his way to the city following a letter from an 8-year-old – but some say his visit is overdueSince 12-year-old Flint resident Jeremiah Loren contracted a debilitating bacterial infection that has rankled his stomach, his grades have dropped dramatically, he’s missed four months of school this year, and there are days he doesn’t even get out of bed.Jeremiah, who has tested positive for elevated blood lead levels, first contracted the infection a few months after Flint switched its water supply to a corrosive local river. His mother, Tammy Loren, attributes his illness directly to the Michigan city’s contaminated water supply. Continue reading...

New research shows the big cats’ global range has shrunk by a shocking amount over the last 250 yearsThe area of the world roamed by leopards has declined by three quarters over the last two and a half centuries, according to the most comprehensive effort yet to map the big cat.Researchers said they were shocked by the shrinking of the spotted hunter’s range, and that the decline had been far worse for several of the nine subspecies of leopards and in some parts of the world. Continue reading...

A climate change denier as US president would dramatically threaten global action to cut carbon emissions, says ex-French foreign minister Laurent FabiusThe election of Donald Trump would derail the landmark agreement on climate change reached in Paris last December, the architect of the accord has warned.Trump is now virtually certain to be the Republican candidate for president and has said “I am not a great believer in manmade climate change”, leading to fears he would attempt to unpick the historic agreement if he became president. Continue reading...

Understanding the greenhouse effect, the expert consensus, and that humans are causing global warming are gateways to support for climate policies

Owner heard four-month-old chihuahua ‘screaming’ before she disappeared from outside her Melbourne homeThe owner of a chihuahua puppy remains hopeful the dog is still alive after it was snatched from her backyard and carried away by crows.Four-month-old Fudge, who was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, was swooped upon by crows while outside her owner Heather Sinden’s home in Melbourne’s outer east on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading...

Twenty large windfarms would need to be committed to in 2016 to get renewable energy target back on trackMeeting Australia’s renewable energy target for 2020 appears increasingly difficult, with a report released on budget night describing the progress so far as “adequate under the circumstances” but saying a rapid acceleration is needed.

Four decades on, Paolo Soleri’s revolutionary Arizona desert vision of super-dense living remains a work in progress. Oliver Wainwright meets the volunteers who haven’t given up hope in his fusion of architecture and ecology

Instagram snaps of celebs such as Paris Hilton and James Rodriguez posing with orangutans and chimpanzees is endangering the survival of the great apesInstagram snaps of celebrities including Paris Hilton and James Rodriguez posing with apes in the Gulf are damaging efforts to clamp down on wildlife trafficking and endangering the survival of some species, a UN body has warned.

Parliamentary inquiry recommends groups should spend quarter of income on ‘remediation’ work to qualify for tax-deductible statusEnvironmental groups would be barred from extensive advocacy work and sanctioned if they encouraged civil disobedience, under recommendations from a federal parliamentary inquiry into the tax-deductible status of environment groups.Related: Liberal push to strip environmental groups of charitable tax status Continue reading...

Swch Cae Rhiw, Ceiriog Valley In the puddle, among the crowfoot, wriggle scores of tadpoles, dark sperm-like beingsHigh up the valley a patch of white looks as if there have been snowflakes blowing across the hills, even in bright sunshine. It turns out to be flowers on the surface of a puddle, a kind of layby to the stream running alongside the track.The white flowers are a kind of water crowfoot, one of a group of amphibious buttercups with little white star flowers and rounded, lobed, leaves above the water and feathery fronds below. The flowers look so slight, as ephemeral as spring snow, yet they must be tough as old boots to survive up here. Continue reading...

Two young aerial photographers filmed a pod of orcas off Bremer Bay on the south coast of Western Australia. Jampal Williamson said the orcas moved so fast they were difficult to film. Williamson and his friend Michael Goetze are using drones to capture different perspectives of WA for their aerial photography project, Salty Wings Continue reading...

Thousands of fishermen are protesting the government’s failure to mitigate effects of a poisonous ‘red tide’ agal bloom scientists call largest in historyThousands of Chilean fishermen have blocked roads with barricades in the region of Los Lagos, saying government efforts to mitigate the economic effects of a harmful algal bloom have been insufficient.For the last four weeks, the southern-central region of Los Lagos has been plagued by what scientists say is the biggest “red tide” in its history. Continue reading...

Transport secretary urged to commit to timetable in light of Airports Commission report backing third runwayDelaying a decision on a third runway has “squandered the opportunity” to act on evidence and expand Heathrow, a cross-party committee of MPs said as it called on the government to commit to a clear timetable.The Commons transport select committee described ministerial claims of progress in the decision-making process as “illusory” and demanded that the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, make clear what the outstanding areas of contention were. Continue reading...

Samarco and its owners Vale SA and BHP Billiton sued for 155bn real ($43.5bn), an amount calculated based on cost of Deepwater Horizon oil spillFederal prosecutors in Brazil have filed a 155bn-real ($43.5bn) civil lawsuit against iron miner Samarco, and its owners Vale SA and BHP Billiton, for the collapse of a tailings dam in November that killed 19 people and polluted a major river.Related: Brazil's slow-motion environmental catastrophe unfolds Continue reading...

Las Vegas opened its first green space last month – is it further proof that Sin City is turning over a new leaf?Taking shade under a Mesquite tree shouldn’t seem exotic in the Mojave Desert. Nor should catching the aroma of sage flowers, or brushing past spiky yucca and tongue-limbed agave plants. But on the fabled Las Vegas Strip, the very notion of a park is novel.Vegas still prides itself on selling unfettered indulgence. Round-the-clock gambling, high-end nightclubs and decadent restaurants are not going away. Yet the opening of the Strip’s first green space last month is further evidence that, regarding its relationship to the environment, Sin City is turning a new leaf. Continue reading...

The mass killings in 1965 live on in global emissions from forced forest fires – and through human rights abuses in the palm oil fieldsThere has been tremendous concern over the ways climate change will affect human rights, but little attention to how human rights abuse affects our global climate.Fifty years ago, Indonesia went through a genocide. The massacres may be relatively unknown, but in a terrible way the destruction continues, and threatens us all. In 1965, the Indonesian army organised paramilitary death squads and exterminated between 500,000 and 1 million people who had hastily been identified as enemies of General Suharto’s new military dictatorship. Today, the killers and their protégés are comfortable establishment figures whose impunity, political power and capacity for intimidation endure. Continue reading...

The biggest coordinated global action against fossil fuel companies began with early morning demonstrations at the Ffos-y-fran coalmine, near Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. Groups of environmental activists descended at the site in red boiler suits forming human chains and blocking access roads Continue reading...

Eight-year-old Mari Copeny plans ‘big hug’ for president, who asked to meet her during a visit to the Michigan city as it continues to grapple with water crisis

European commission investigating violations of the EU bird directive after Malta allows 5,000 turtle doves to be shot, says Karmenu VellaMalta should consider a temporary ban on the shooting of turtle doves which are being driven to extinction by hunting and other pressures, the EU’s environment chief has said.The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) put turtledoves on its Red List of species threatened with extinction for the first time last October. Continue reading...

Country should focus on nuclear power and carbon capture technologies, former chief scientific adviser said in his final interviewThe idea that renewable energy can power the UK is an “appalling delusion”, according to the final interview given by former chief scientific adviser, the late Professor Sir David MacKay.

Break free and join the biggest global action against fossil fuel companies the world has ever seenAn interesting question is, what are you waiting for?Global warming is the biggest problem we’ve ever faced as a civilisation — certainly you want to act to slow it down, but perhaps you’ve been waiting for just the right moment. Continue reading...

For when the problem seems too big and individual efforts too small, here are three organizations making a difference locally and around the worldUsing the column you’re reading now, I often advocate creating positive environmental change by taking the micro-view and focusing on personal responsibility by making changes to your buying habits, your energy use and your waste production. But you can also choose to take a wider focus by demanding industry-level change from big polluters and advocating bold shifts in government policy.Both have their drawbacks: the former can seem insignificant; the latter, insurmountable. But there is a middle ground: grassroots organization, where individuals come together to address the unique environmental challenges faced by their own communities, neighborhoods and social groups. Continue reading...

Ban Ki-moon says he will appoint Patricia Espinosa Cantellano as new chief of UNFCCC, as climate talks shift from setting goals to carrying them outA veteran Mexican diplomat has been chosen to head the United Nations’ newly upgraded climate office, UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced in a letter to France’s environment minister.