A major big city infrastructure company has produced an imaginative report on how the capital can maintain its “competitive advantage” in the world for the next 35 years

4.2 magnitude quake is among more than 800 in the state in 2015, and many are occurring in areas where wells pump byproducts of oil and gas productionA 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck north Oklahoma City early on New Year’s Day, the latest in a series of temblors in the area in recent days that has prompted state regulators to call for more restrictions on oil and gas operators.No injuries and only minor damage were reported with the quake, which struck at 5.39am on Friday near Edmond, about 16 miles north-east of Oklahoma City, according to the US Geological Survey. Continue reading...

Two people die in Scotland as fierce rains and flooding hit Dumfries and Aberdeenshire, with a further battering set to comeThe red roller doors of Ballater fire station are splayed apart like a broken umbrella, the metal buckled by tonnes of flood water from the river Dee. On New Year’s Day, members of the stricken community on Royal Deeside appeared dazed at the scale of the devastation wrought by Storm Frank, swapping stories of personal losses on street corners, amid fears that some residents may be unable to return to their waterlogged homes for up to a year.The volunteer-led clean-up operation in Scotland’s worst-affected areas of Dumfries and Aberdeenshire began early on New Year’s morning, as the Met Office upgraded weather warnings for north-east and central Scotland to amber over the weekend. Early on Friday morning, police confirmed that a man had died as a result of the heavy flooding after he fell from a canoe into a rapid-flowing river bringing the storm’s death toll to two. Continue reading...

Smog-fighting experiment in Indian capital accepted by public, say officials, but test will come on Monday when offices reopen after new year holidayMore than a million private cars were banned from Delhi’s roads on Friday, as authorities began an experimental scheme to battle smog in the world’s most polluted capital.

It may have a reputation as a do-nothing body, but the US Congress managed to pass more than 100 bills into law – including the landmark USA Freedom ActIn 2015, Congress passed more than 100 laws that were then signed by President Barack Obama. Some, like the omnibus budget deal agreed in December, accomplished the most basic task of funding the federal government. There were also 14 different bills to rename individual post offices, including one sponsored by Representative Steve Chabot to name the post office in Springboro, Ohio after longtime local mail man Richard “Dick” Chenault. But besides keeping the lights on and renaming post offices, the federal government actually did a few consequential things in 2015. These are seven of the more interesting new laws of the year. Continue reading...

From silver maples to English oak, a web developer from Brooklyn has plotted the location of trees from 168 different species across the city’s five boroughsThe 600,000 trees that line the streets of New York City have been mapped, revealing a diverse array of greenery in the midst of one of the world’s largest cities.

Working with families, I’ve seen the impact of loss and displacement when the waters recede – and how long it can take people to recoverFor the thousands of people who have been flooded in the last few weeks, life afterwards is only just beginning and is likely to be miserable for a while.Related: UK floods: your photos and stories Continue reading...

Stanwick Lakes, Northamptonshire Yellow dangling catkins, which we are used to seeing in February, are opening upLate December and this landscaped array of flooded gravel pits in the Nene valley is thrumming with people. Not just Karrimor jackets and sensible walking shoe types either: families, big yellow Doc Martens, baby bumps, huge fluffy puppies, luminous cyclists; denizens of all shapes, sizes and colours.Their quiet and chatty enjoyment of the clement blue skies is interrupted by a huge leaden-clouded trough of low pressure, spanning from southern to northern horizon and sweeping west to east. When the temperature drops and squalls of heavy rain ensue, humanity, myself included, takes refuge in a capacious wooden bird hide overlooking a lake. Continue reading...

Environmentalists have handed out 40,000 free ‘endangered species condoms’ on student campuses, farmers’ markets and even via elderly peopleEnvironmentalists will ramp up their attempts to curb what they see as harmful population growth by distributing thousands of condoms adorned with pictures of polar bears, otters and other vulnerable creatures.

Storm Frank is the latest to bring misery to people across Britain. Our readers reveal how they’ve been affected by the floods

Nicola Sturgeon praises ‘heroic’ response but warns of long recovery road as 21 flood warnings in place across ScotlandAs the battering winds and torrential rains of Storm Frank subsided, leaving the people of Scotland, Ireland and northern England to survey the damage in its wake, police confirmed that one man had died in the latest bout of extreme weather.

From the medieval candle to phosphorescent trees and glow-in-the-dark concrete, Daryl Mersom charts the trajectory of urban light, and asks how the problem of light pollution can be tackled in the modern eraThe ever-increasing demand for the 24-hour illumination of cities is blighting urban residents with two distinct forms of pollution. Current lighting solutions rely on vast amounts of energy, of course, much of which is not yet generated from renewable resources. According to the International Energy Agency, lighting accounts for almost 20% of global electricity consumption – and thus high levels of carbon emissions.But there is also an increasing acknowledgement that light itself constitutes a form of pollution – and mounting evidence that our exposure to urban lighting at unnatural times is making us ill. It is reported that the glow of Los Angeles is visible to planes 200 miles away, while in Reykjavik, light pollution is obscuring the northern lights. Continue reading...

Alternate-day car ban in place in Indian capital, with 27 categories of motorist exempt including female drivers and the prime ministerDelhi is to implement a fortnight-long driving ban for certain cars from New Year’s Day in an experiment critics say falls far short of what is needed to lower the Indian capital’s lethal pollution levels.For two weeks from Friday, only alternate-day travel will be permitted between 8am and 8pm for private cars with odd- and even-numbered licence plates, while thousands of trucks carrying commercial goods will be discouraged from driving through the city. Continue reading...

Labour leader says he will urge ministers to boost funding for Environment Agency on visit to York in the wake of Storm FrankThe Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has called for greater flood defence spending after experts criticised the chancellor, George Osborne, for prioritising cutting the deficit.Speaking in the flood-hit city of York, Corbyn praised emergency workers for helping those who found their homes and businesses inundated over the Christmas and new year period. Continue reading...

Boomtime for skiing and fishing as the periodical weather phenomenon brings rain and snow – but California’s drought is far from over, say expertsThe El Niño climate phenomenon has been blamed for fuelling a spate of recent natural disasters around the world, from flooding in northern England and Paraguay to bushfires in Australia to storms in Texas. But, for many people in California, the current El Niño has been eagerly anticipated.Related: UK floods and extreme global weather linked to El Niño and climate change Continue reading...

Guardian staff writers in the US cut through the war, injustice and strife and tell us what makes them feel optimistic going into the new yearWhile it’s perhaps necessary to look at the year ahead and anticipate all the ways 2016 can go wrong – as another publication brilliantly did – it might also be helpful to remind ourselves that in the middle of wars, strife and injustice, progress is also being made.We asked Guardian US staff to pick one topic which makes them feel hopeful for 2016. Feel free to add your own in the comments. Continue reading...

Body recovered near Inverness as Scotland bears brunt of latest deluge, with power cuts and homes evacuatedDozens of flood warnings remain across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England after Storm Frank left a trail of destruction and claimed its first fatality.

James and Carol Coutts were among those residents worst affected by flooding in Dumfriesshire. It is the fourth time their house has been flooded since the devastating floods in 2005. Water levels across south west Scotland rose so quickly on Wednesday that many motorists had to be rescued from their vehicles, including lorry drivers. In South Ayrshire, 12 passengers were airlifted from a submerged Stagecoach busRead: Scotland main victim of latest deluge but Storm Frank recedesWatch: caravan swept away by River Dee Continue reading...

Combined challenge of climate change and population growth puts premium on rapid urbanisation ‘in a way that’s not going to kill us’, says head of Arup

Petition focuses growing backlash against companies who dig up thousand-year-old trees to sell to wealthy foreignersThey have witnessed – and withstood – much of Spain’s rich history; their thick, gnarled branches steadily supplying olives to a changing roster of Romans, Moors and Christians. But recent years have seen Spain’s thousand-year-old olive trees face one of their biggest threats to date: a growing demand for unique garden ornaments that has led to the trees being uprooted and transported around the world, from northern Europe to the US and the United Arab Emirates.“We’re losing some of the biggest and oldest trees of Europe,” said César-Javier Palacios of Madrid’s Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente Foundation. The foundation, dedicated to honouring the memory of one of Spain’s best-known naturalists, recently launched a campaign to try and keep these trees in Spain. Continue reading...

Photographs from the Eyewitness series Continue reading...

To stop snow leopards killing valuable livestock, villagers in Himachal Pradesh have changed the way they manage land to increase the endangered cat’s wild prey, while an insurance scheme offers compensation for lost stockIn the high altitude treeless expanses of Kibber, Himachal Pradesh, India, snow leopards use boulders and ridgelines to stalk blue sheep and Himalayan ibex. But they also feast on yak calves and horse foals, much to the chagrin of villagers. These animals fetch a pretty penny, and the compensation paid by the state was so measly that livestock owners didn’t even bother to file claims. Had nothing been done to resolve the problem, people’s hostility to snow leopards could have turned volatile.

Were you paying attention this year? From climate talks to coal and conservation, test your knowledge of the year in environment Continue reading...

Greenpeace still accused of colonialism but outgoing South African head has overseen move towards more people-focused, people-powered movementWhen Kumi Naidoo was approached to be head of Greenpeace in 2009 he was 19 days into a hunger strike, in an effort to draw attention to the plight of millions of Zimbabweans facing severe food shortages. The head of a South African community group, he was in pain, on liquids, and getting weaker by the hour. It was not the best time to think about moving to Amsterdam to run the world’s most recognised environmental organisation.But it took a threat from his 16-year-old daughter to persuade him to go for the job. “She said, ‘Dad, I won’t talk to you ever again if you do not consider it.’ Ten days later, still on liquids, I relented,” says Naidoo. “Yes, the head of Greenpeace needed a kick from his daughter. She is my fiercest critic.” Continue reading...

Images of Sir Philip Dilley, who was in Barbados when the floods struck, were derided by scores of Twitter users commenting on his suntanThe chair of the Environment Agency has been visiting flood-hit areas of the north of England following his return from a much-criticised holiday in the Caribbean.Sir Philip Dilley’s visit to Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd was promoted on social media by the agency, which posted images on Twitter of him meeting staff and other emergency workers.

Tories promised £400m a year investment on flood defences but data shows spending was cut sharply at start of last parliamentGeorge Osborne has been accused of jeopardising Britain’s crumbling flood defences over the past five years by prioritising cuts to the deficit, and has also been warned that infrastructure spending may need to rise sharply to adapt to climate change.The warnings from leading academics came as parts of the UK were hit by Storm Frank on Wednesday, with hundreds of homes evacuated and thousands of people left without power. Continue reading...

Hundreds of homes evacuated, thousands without power as high winds fell trees and heavy rain brings new flood warningsLarge parts of the UK were battered by Storm Frank on Wednesday, with hundreds of homes evacuated and thousands of people left without power, as high winds and heavy rain brought yet more weather misery.In Scotland, there were two severe weather warnings – signalling danger to life – for Whitesands in Dumfries and The Tweed in Peebles, and one severe weather warning in England, in Croston, Lancashire, which has already been hit by the recent floods. Continue reading...

Due to the low pressure system that brought high winds and rain to the UK, the Arctic could be hotter than Chicago, Vienna and Istanbul on WednesdayThe north pole could be hotter than Chicago, Vienna or Istanbul on Wednesday due to the low pressure system that has brought tornados to Dallas and high winds and heavy rainfall to the UK.

Rewarding Guardian subscribers with a gift card from Amazon after exposing the company’s tax avoidance (Letters, December 29) is far from hypocritical. Rather, it demonstrates the newspaper’s welcome independence of its advertisers and commercial sponsors and a determination to uphold the finest traditions of honest journalism. Well done.

Station in Anglesey, the oldest in the UK, shuts as focus is on energy provider EDF over its plans for new facilities at Hinkley PointBritain’s oldest nuclear plant closed on Wednesday, leaving in its wake a £700m decommissioning bill and further questions about the UK’s ability to keep the lights on.The closure of the Wylfa plant in Wales after 44 years of service puts more pressure on EDF Energy to take a final investment decision for new reactors at Hinkley in Somerset. Continue reading...

Unprecedented numbers of dead or starving seals washing ashore as Pacific Ocean warms, with experts saying they are ‘preparing for the worst’ in 2016The warming of the Pacific Ocean caused by the El Niño climate event is “causing havoc” among marine animals off California’s coast, with unprecedented numbers of dead or starving seals being washed ashore.