Environment | The Guardian

Thousands of monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico for the winter each year, to find refuge from the cold weather in the country’s pine forests. But last week a rare snowstorm interrupted their sleep as freezing winds blew the butterflies out of their safe colonies, grouped together in the trees, and deposited many of them across the forest floor where they are at risk of freezing to death while still in hibernation. The species itself is not at risk but, as this film project by Univision Planeta shows, there is still no accurate number for how many of the butterflies have died Continue reading...

Susan Hedman was accused of doing nothing to protect Flint’s children – but in a congressional hearing she said state officials failed to act on agency’s concernsThe Environmental Protection Agency manager who resigned over the Flint poisoned water scandal has blamed state officials for the disaster during an acrimonious congressional inquiry.Susan Hedman, who was the regional EPA head for Flint, told the hearing she resigned due to “false allegations” in the media that she had failed to react to the crisis and sidelined Miguel del Toral, an EPA official who wrote a memo warning of the dangerous situation in Flint. Continue reading...

Britons drink more than 8m takeaway coffees every day – then throw away the cups. Why are so few recycled?The paper coffee cup is one of modern life’s consumer conundrums. It is ubiquitous, yet coveted, pricey yet just about affordable. It confers status in a world where you need to be busy to be important, while telling everyone you had time to wait in line while the beans were ground and the milk was steamed. And now there is one more contradiction to add to the list, because the paper coffee cup, it turns out, is recyclable - yet woefully, overwhelmingly, unrecycled.A conservative estimate puts the number of paper cups handed out by coffee shops in the UK at 3bn, more than 8m a day. Yet, supposedly, fewer than one in 400 is being recycled. Continue reading...

Amid the pressing demands of immediate political crises it is easy to forget the long-term changes in the climate. But no country, least of all the UK, can afford to“Normally I don’t comment on individual months,” tweeted Gavin Schmidt of Nasa on Sunday. “Too much weather, not enough climate. But last month was special.” And so it was: February’s global surface temperature was 1.35C warmer than the average temperature for the month between 1951-1980, a bigger margin than ever seen before.In the pressing confusion of world affairs, civil war, refugees, terrorism and even the workings of democracy, it can be hard to keep a focus on even greater long-term threats. Yet the consequences of climate change – sometimes drought, sometimes extreme weather events – already contribute to political instability, to pushing hard lives over the border into intolerable, fuelling the great flows of humanity across continents. Continue reading...

In December, David Cameron joined 195 other leaders to promise ambitious action on climate change. Achieving the Paris goals requires leaving most of the world’s fossil fuel reserves in the ground. A first step must be to stop subsidising fossil fuel production. Wednesday’s budget is an acid test of the government’s Paris commitment. In last year’s budget, the chancellor gave £1.3bn in new tax breaks and direct funding to the oil industry. The UK Treasury receives a smaller share of oil revenues than most other comparable countries. Meanwhile, the government has exempted a whole new fossil-fuel industry – fracking – from half of its tax, despite huge local opposition wherever it is proposed.The government has slashed support for wind and solar energy, costing thousands of jobs. Yet its free-market rationale does not apply when it comes to the oil and gas industry, which has received continued government support even in times of super-normal profits. The chancellor has to change course. He should scrap subsidies that keep the British economy hooked on fossil fuels, and instead set out a strategy to help communities currently dependent on fossil fuel jobs to diversify and to rebuild around world-leading clean technology.

Climate change has brought a myriad of issues to the far north, but rising sea levels are now threatening existing home owners and contributing to housing shortagesIn the spring, after the permafrost thaws and the ground settles, Wilson Andrew Sr takes a wrench to the metal pilings that hold up the foundation of his house in Atmautluak, Alaska, and makes it level again. He cranks the screws until the foundation flattens out, level with the ground. At least for now.

Environmental groups call president’s reversal an outsize victory after backlash from communities that fear Gulf of Mexico rig disaster could happen againThe Obama administration abandoned its plan for oil and gas drilling in Atlantic waters on Tuesday, after strong opposition from the Pentagon and coastal communities.The announcement from Sally Jewell, the interior secretary, to bar drilling across the length of the mid-Atlantic seaboard reverses Obama’s decision just a year ago to open up the east coast to oil and gas exploration, and consolidates his record for environmental protection. Continue reading...

Fort Yukon has recorded Alaska’s coldest ever temperatures but this winter temperatures have been much warmer than usual, leading to dangerously thin iceThis year’s record-breaking temperatures have robbed the Arctic of its winter, sending snowmobilers plunging through thin ice into freezing rivers and forcing deliveries of snow to the starting line of Alaska’s legendary Iditarod dogsledding race.Last month’s high temperatures – up to 16C (29F) above normal in some parts of the Arctic – flummoxed scientists, and are redefining life in the Arctic, especially for the indigenous people who live close to the land. Continue reading...

Until it divests from fossil fuels, McGill is betting its prestige on preparing youth for the world while betting its dollars on making it uninhabitableStudents have tried petitions, research briefs, faculty letters, camping for a week on campus. But for a university that considers itself the Harvard of the north, McGill’s administrators have shown little readiness to listen to reason. Or to heed the weather: February was the hottest month in a century by a “stunning” margin, according to Nasa.

M&S and Unilever among companies demanding urgent action over unsustainable water usage destroying ecosystem in Doñana regionA consortium of high-profile supermarkets and food companies is demanding urgent action to stop unsustainable water usage among Spanish strawberry growers.

UK Committee on Climate Change says Holyrood should aim to reduce greenhouse gases by 61% over next 14 yearsScottish ministers should aim to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by a challenging but achievable 61% by 2030, an influential advisory committee has recommended.The UK Committee on Climate Change (UKCCC) said that cutting emissions that deeply would mirror the Scottish parliament’s existing goal of reducing emissions by 42% by 2020: both targets would outstrip the UK government’s current pledges. Continue reading...

Prince William-led initiative to be signed by 40 organisations, including port operators and transport groups to curb $19bn illegal poaching tradeThe world’s largest shipping and airline companies, port operators and transport groups will commit on Tuesday to trying to shut down the main international wildlife trafficking routes.

Everything from carnivorous pitcher plants to acid-loving blueberries can be grown without peat. No more excuses: it’s time gardeners kicked the peat habitI used to be a staunch believer that some plants couldn’t be grown without peat.I couldn’t see how I could grow Proteas, Banksias and the like unless I used it. Its fibrous, moisture retentive and long lasting nature created just the right environment for their specialised root systems. I grow a lot of peat-loving plants such as Shortias and Vacciniums too. There certainly seemed no way these would grow without the substrate to which they are so inextricably linked in the wild. Continue reading...

The question that the scientists at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway have to answer is why it would not be in the best interests of the whole area to have marine reserve status as its default position (Targeted marine protection provides best hope for the Arctic, Letters, theguardian.com, 11 March)?This would mean that no fishing could take place (be licensed) unless that proposal to fish could prove that it was not injurious. This is exactly what all other human marine activities have to do, so why should fishing be exempt? Continue reading...

Isle de Jean Charles has lost 98% of its land and most of its population to rising sea levels – but as remaining residents consider relocation, what happens next is a test case to address resettlement needsWenceslaus Billiot, an 88-year-old native of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, remembers growing up on a much different island than the two-mile sliver of his ancestral home that remains today.“When I was a kid I used to do trapping in the back,” he said, gesturing towards the back of the small, one-story house that stands elevated on stilts to escape the floods that roll in from the bayou after nearly every storm. “You could walk for a long time. Now, nothing but water.” Continue reading...

We treat climate change records as we treat new fashions, phones or films. But we seem unable to understand that we are driving such changesAnd another one bites the dust. The year 2014 was the warmest ever recorded by humans. Then 2015 was warmer still. January 2016 broke the record for the largest monthly temperature anomaly. Then came last month.February didn’t break climate change records – it obliterated them. Regions of the Arctic were were more than 16C warmer than normal – whatever constitutes normal now. But what is really making people stand up and notice is that the surface of the Earth north of the equator was 2C warmer than pre-industrial temperatures. This was meant to be a line that must not be crossed. Continue reading...

Taiwan’s capital – notorious for elevated highways and swarms of scooters – is in the early stages of a cycle revolution powered by legalised sidewalk cycling and a bike-share scheme where more than half of users are womenA swarm of scooters forms at the head of a queue of traffic waiting for the lights to change. Visors down, engines revving, they jockey for position ahead of the cars, trucks and buses on a specially marked patch of tarmac reserved for cyclists in many parts of the world.The buzz rises to a high-pitched crescendo and, as the lights turn green, they shoot off. A minute later the lights change and the process begins again. Taipei is home to almost one million scooters – as well as 2.7 million people. Like many other large Asian cities, the roads here are seen as no place for cyclists. Continue reading...

Local authorities and retailers including Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco sign voluntary Courtauld 2025 agreement to reduce food and drink wasteBritain’s leading supermarkets have pledged to drive down food and drink waste by a fifth within the next decade.Retailers including Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons are backing a voluntary agreement, which also targets a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions created by the food and drink industry. Continue reading...

Australia’s ambassador to the US defends criticism of his country’s climate stance in an editorial – but how do the points he makes stack up?Australia’s former treasurer Joe Hockey has weighed into the debate about cuts to climate research at CSIRO, by writing a letter to the New York Times.

Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority alleges La Trobe Valley residents were exposed to toxic carbon monoxideVictoria’s Environment Protection Authority has charged four companies with air pollution offences following a comprehensive investigation into the devastating Hazelwood mine fire which occurred in February 2014 and burned for 45 days.Related: Hazelwood mine manager charged with 10 offences over 2014 Morwell fire Continue reading...

Harvesting fruit and vegetables is both educational and rewarding. We talk to schools that are digging in and offer ideas to get you startedWhen Chris Collins left school aged 16 in the early 1980s, he wasn’t sure where his life was heading. “I just couldn’t sit still in the classroom,” he says. “All I knew was that I wanted to be outside.”Today, Collins has come full circle, dedicating much of his time to championing gardening in schools after jobs including rainforest work in west Africa, garden design in Japan and head gardener at Westminster Abbey. He was also Blue Peter’s resident gardener from 2004-13. “It’s vitally important that kids understand where food comes from,” he says. “Learning is about so much more than being at a desk.” Continue reading...

The Law Society of NSW and the NSW Bar Association have strongly condemned an extension of anti-protest laws set to pass the NSW parliamentProposed laws that intend to increase tenfold the fines for coal seam gas and mining protesters in New South Wales have been strongly criticised by the Law Society of NSW and the NSW Bar Association, just as they are expected to be rushed through both houses of parliament.The reaction came as hundreds of protesters gathered outside Parliament House in Sydney to express their opposition to the proposals. Some of their placards read: “You gotta fight for your right to fight for your right.” Continue reading...

Calls for better policing of the industry as report finds licensed fishing vessels are responsible for majority of the illegal catchIllegal fishing in the Pacific Ocean is costing more than $600m a year and is mainly being carried out by legally licensed fishing vessels, a report has found.The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency released the 100-page report, which is the first in-depth attempt to investigate, quantify and place a monetary value on the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices (IUU) in the region. Continue reading...

Claxton, Norfolk Such was the persecution of buzzards by pheasant-killing folk that until 1994 I’d never seen one in NorfolkMy guess is that on most days in the last 5,000 years, buzzards have been commonplace over our village. Yet such was the relatively recent persecution of them by pheasant-killing folk that until 1994 I’d never seen one at all in Norfolk. And it was only this century that I found them breeding locally. Now I spot them routinely from the office, and 10 during a walk on the marsh is nothing exceptional. However I prefer to look upon the common buzzard as a rightful returnee rather than a recently arrived stranger.Related: Buzzard trapping plan abandoned as government U-turns again Continue reading...

One in four deaths avoidable as enviornmental factors contribute to over 100 diseases, with air pollution responsible for 25% of strokes and 19% of cancersNearly one in four deaths are linked to unhealthy environments and are avoidable, a new World Health Organisation study – the first major assessment of environmental risk since 2006 – has shown.It suggests environmental risks now contribute to more than 100 of the world’s most dangerous diseases, injuries, and kills 12.6 million people a year – nearly one in four or 23% of all deaths. Continue reading...

Latest ABS figures show job decline in renewable energy industry, with consumer groups blaming government for the loss of 5,100 full-time jobsMore than a quarter of the jobs in the renewable energy industry have disappeared since 2011, with a continued decline in the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.The clean energy industry, consumer groups and conservationists all blamed federal government actions, like reviewing the renewable energy target and maintaining the policy of axing the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, despite the bills axing them being blocked by the Senate.

The panel on the ABC’s science-themed Q&A episode discusses the consequences of climate science cuts at the CSIRO. Emma Johnston, a marine biologist from the University of New South Wales, says Nasa’s announcement that February was the most anomalously warm month on record showed measurement and modelling needed to be increased, not cut back. She says the science has been settled on whether climate change is occurring, ‘But what is a really active question is how climate change is going to play out’ Continue reading...

March can be a fickle month: it proverbially “comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”. March winds often feature strongly, as do late winter cold spells, and these are often accompanied by heavy falls of snow.But just once in a while the gods smile on our little island and bring a spell of settled, fine and very warm weather, so that pavement cafes are thronged with T-shirted sunseekers, in scenes more reminiscent of summer. Continue reading...

Energy minister Andrea Leadsom responds to call from Ed Miliband, saying Paris climate pledge will be legally bindingThe UK will enshrine in law a long-term goal of reducing its carbon emissions to zero, as called for in last year’s historic Paris climate deal.

Academics and general staff commend university for withstanding public criticism over initial divestment and call for further share salesHundreds of academics and other staff at the Australian National University have called on the university to divest completely from fossil fuels, in an open letter addressed to the ANU council.Related: ANU fossil fuel divestment decision ‘stupid’, Tony Abbott says Continue reading...

A new deal between drug companies formed at Davos aims to step up the fight against antibiotic resistance. But is it too little too late?In January, a coalition of 85 biotechnology, pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, came together at the World Economic Forum in Davos to form a landmark agreement to help combat antibiotic resistance. The companies have called on governments to help fund research and aid in developing a “sustainable and predictable” market for new drugs.It’s a promising step, but there’s still a long way to go. Even when new antibiotics are discovered, developing them for use in the marketplace remains a big challenge. According to a May 2015 review on antimicrobial resistance, it’s often more profitable for pharmaceutical companies to pay to develop drugs intended for long term use, like medication to treat diabetes or heart disease, rather than antibiotics, typically used for a few days. Continue reading...

Researchers say methane rising to the surface of the ocean could explain the sudden loss of ships in the western North Atlantic. And anywhere else, for that matterName: The Bermuda TriangleAge: 52 years. Continue reading...

It is preposterous to build in areas that are bound to flood. So why are real estate companies still doing it?Sea-level rise may be the most predictable outcome of climate change. Expanding warmer waters and melting land ice both contribute to flooding – and scientists agree that we are locked into sea-level rise for centuries to come. The question is not if we will retreat from the coast, but when. Still, the rush to develop the coast occurs at a maddening pace.We now know that 13.1 million people are at risk of flooding along the US coast by the end of this century. A new study published in Nature Climate Change further suggests that massive migration will occur unless protective measures are taken. Since sea-level rise will speed up after the end of the century due to increased glacier and ice sheet melting, the flooding we face in this century is just the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading...

Combination of coastal population growth and rising sea levels could drive a shift comparable to the 20th century’s Great MigrationUS coastal areas occupied by more than 13 million people will be at risk of being completely swamped by the sea under a worst-case climate change scenario, new research predicts, potentially leading to a population upheaval comparable to the Great Migration of the 20th century.Population growth in coastal areas over the course of this century, particularly in vulnerable areas of Florida, is likely to collide with the reality of rising seas caused by melting glaciers and thermal expansion as the planet warms. Continue reading...

Architect Bjarke Ingels has managed to make Copenhagen’s waste-to-energy plant good to look at. Why is Britain incapable of making form beautify function?I was mooching through the centre of Copenhagen last week when my architect friend spotted two chimneys sticking from a sensuous steel building going up just across the water. This is Denmark’s new waste-to-energy plant, which in Britain would be called an incinerator.The Danes are annoyingly incapable of designing anything horrible, and this vast factory, which will burn a quarter of all Denmark’s rubbish when it opens next year, is wrapped in a ski slope for the citizens of the capital. The chimneys will periodically emit huge rings of steam (not smoke) to elegantly demonstrate how much carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere by the plant – at one ring per tonne. Continue reading...

About half of the estimated 500 or so animals have been drawn to Massachusetts bay’s plankton-rich waters over past few springs, experts sayCape Cod is seeing a lot more of some singularly welcome tourists: endangered right whales enticed by the fine dining possibilities of its plankton-rich bay.Experts tracking the creatures, which are some of the rarest on the planet, say nearly half the estimated global population of 500 or so animals has been spotted in Cape Cod Bay over the past few springs. Continue reading...

Though there is 5,000 miles between California and Cornwall, south-west England’s warm, damp climate is expected to suit the redwoods perfectlyForty coast redwood trees were planted on Monday at the Eden Project in the south-west of England, the first time a “forest” of these big friendly giants from north America has been introduced to Europe.By the year 2050 they will soar 25m into the Cornish sky. If all goes to plan they will become a new landmark, thrilling and amazing people for many centuries to come. Continue reading...

Like in Ridley Scott’s The Martian, Nasa is running tests to see if potatoes could survive the climatic extremes of the red planetGrowing potatoes on Mars may sound like a fantasy straight out of sci-fi drama The Martian – in which a marooned astronaut survives on the red planet by tending spuds. But it’s also the focus of an experiment by the US space agency, Nasa, which is teaming up with the Peru-based International Potato Centre (CIP) to see if potatoes could be grown in such harsh conditions.“The Martian is completely possible,” says astrobiologist Julio Valdivia-Silva, the principal scientist working on the experiment in Peru. Continue reading...

A San Francisco brewery is using Nasa technology to make beer with water from sinks and showers, while other brewers are finding new ways to go greenIn autumn of 2014 – three years into California’s devastating drought– architect Russ Drinker became fixated on brewing beer from recycled greywater (that is, water that’s been treated after use in sinks, showers and washing clothes).

Caroline Lucas says Brexit would threaten UK’s environmental protection and rights at workThe Green party has launched its EU referendum campaign, promising to be “loud and proud” about backing Britain’s membership.Caroline Lucas, the party’s only MP and board member of the Britain Stronger in Europe group, said mobilising hundreds of thousands of Green supporters would be crucial to the remain campaign. Continue reading...

Renewable transport goal has encouraged biofuels including those from palm oil and soybean, which are found to be worse than diesel oil for emissionsEuropean Union renewable energy targets may have increased greenhouse gas emissions because the dirtiest biofuels produce three times the emissions of diesel oil, according to the most complete EU analysis yet carried out.Biodiesel made from palm oil emits more than three times as much and soybean oil around twice as much, when the crops’ effects on land use are considered, the research by the Ecofys consultancy for the European commission found. Continue reading...

Owen Paterson denies he sought to replace east European workers with older Britons on less than minimum wageA Conservative cabinet minister suggested getting pensioners to pick fruit and vegetables below the minimum wage instead of hiring Bulgarians and Romanians at the legal rate, a former Lib Dem coalition colleague has claimed.David Laws, who lost his seat at last year’s general election, revealed the episode in a new book about his days in government, saying the plan was hatched by Owen Paterson, the then environment secretary. The account is disputed by Paterson but Laws alleges that his former Tory colleague came up with the idea after proposing to end a scheme bringing over migrants from Bulgaria and Romania to work in the fields of British farmers. Continue reading...

Two recent programmes on BBC Radio 4 highlight a worrying anti-democratic bias in discussions of science and technology.