Environment | The Guardian

Study finds statistically significant association' between exposure to fine particles in coalmine fire smoke and aging of lungs, equal to 4.7 years

Climate campaigners criticise decision to allow capacity to increase from 6.5m to 9m passengers a yearMinisters have approved London City airport's application to expand, in a decision that has disappointed climate campaigners.The airport submitted a proposal to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights. Local campaigners and Newham council opposed the move, arguing the air and noise pollution would affect people living nearby and that it could potentially increase carbon emissions. Continue reading...

They threaten our drinking water and refuse to budge. But non-lethal methods are the only advisable ways to deal with the infestation

Thousands of firefighters are deployed as an all time record for acres burned - and it's only August. Now some worry about the long months aheadIt's still early in the wildfire season for the American west, but it's already shaping up to be a tough and, in some cases, record-breaking year.Oregon has seen more fire than any year on record, with almost 1.5m acres (607,028 hectares) scorched in recent weeks as huge wildfires, primarily caused by lightning strikes, have exploded across the region. Nearly 70 major fires are burning across the US this week alone, primarily in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Continue reading...

Exclusive: Environment watchdog advised in 2021 the material should not be used broadly', before backing away from proposals to tighten regulations

With the climate changing, many species are marching towards cooler climes - but trees are being outpaced. Some ecologists say assisted movement is the answerAt the top of an ancient oak at Knepp estate in West Sussex, a white stork has made a scruffy nest. The birds made headlines in 2020 when, after an absence of centuries in the UK, the first chick hatched. Alongside bison, beavers and white-tailed eagles, the storks are one of many species reintroduced to Britain in recent decades in an effort to restore animals to ecosystems where they had been wiped out. The oak tree, by contrast, has been here continuously for 12,000 years.But ecologist Charlie Gardner is worried one of them may not have a future here - and it's the oak. By 2050, London's weather could resemble that of Barcelona, with long stretches of summer drought. These ancient trees were not designed to thrive in such conditions. More and more individual trees will die and reproductive success will fall," says Gardner. Around the world, millions of creatures facing unprecedented temperatures and habitat loss are on the move. The climate crisis is causing a vast array of species - from algae to butterflies, woodlice to birds - to shift northwards. Species are travelling north at a median rate of 17km a decade, according to 2011 research. That average equates to 20cm an hour - two to three times faster than previous estimates. Continue reading...

Gusts of up to 62mph made waters around islands unsafe; and Hurricane Ernesto passed over BermudaHundreds of people were evacuated as flash flooding struck homes and holiday lets in the Balearic Islands last week, with many parts receiving about 100mm of rain within 24 hours.Heavy downpours and severe thunderstorms hit the islands on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing hail and strong winds. The local authorities told people not to leave their homes on Wednesday, when the weather was at its worst. The town of Soller, on Mallorca, received the highest 24-hour total of 114mm, but 68mm of this fell within just one hour, with 19mm falling in 10 minutes. Continue reading...

While tourists flock to the Italian island in greater numbers, a water crisis is intensifying for its rural populationFor the first time in four generations of his family's farming history, Vito Amantia's threshers have lain silent this year. The 650,000kg of wheat that his farm would usually produce in a year has been lost, parched and withered under the scorching sun and relentless drought.A seasoned farmer doesn't need to check the weather forecast to understand what the weather will be like," says Amantia, 68, who farms on the Catania plain in eastern Sicily. Already last January, I knew it would be a disastrous year. The wheat seedlings that normally reached 80cm stopped at 5cm. Then they dried up." Continue reading...

Attendees who fell ill suffered from dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke in 96F temperaturesMore than 100 people were treated for heat-related illness at a Colorado airshow on Saturday, with attendees describing a lack of shade and free water on festival grounds as temperatures soared to 96F (36C) highs.The Colorado Springs fire department said those who fell ill at the Pike's Peak regional airshow suffered conditions such as dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, according to KRDO. Continue reading...

The death of a young woman falling from the famous - and ever more popular - Half Dome in Yosemite ignites debateIn 1974, Scott Crollard, a teen on a church youth group trip, casually climbed cables to help reach the lofty summit of Half Dome, whose name describes a unique rock formation in California from which you can see the Yosemite Valley some 5,000ft below.I remember sitting on the edge of the lip of Half Dome with my buddy and just gazing over the edge. And when he got off, he kind of nudged me, and I darn near fell off the thing just because we were so nonchalant about it," said Collard, now a 65-year-old retired emergency room physician in St Louis who again ascended Half Dome in 2017 with more appreciation for its magnitude. Continue reading...

Cattle at a Queensland feedlot were fed red seaweed for 200 days in one of the longest trials of the additive - but experts say it's not farm-ready

Travel companies are reporting a surge of interest in people wanting to get away from light pollution and into natureFor the campers at the Dark Skies site near the Cambrian mountains in Wales, the blackness of the pitches is an important draw.When people come, they are blown away by the night sky," said Tanya Jordan, who owns the site and holiday cottages nearby. We get people who know about it and come for that reason." Continue reading...

Convicted of non-violent offences in Insulate Britain action, Dr Diana Warner is second GP to have licence suspended, which a medical tribunal ruled could damage patient trustA retired GP has become the second doctor to have their medical licence suspended after being convicted of non-violent offences during peaceful climate protests.Dr Diana Warner, who worked as a GP for 35 years in surgeries around Bristol, was imprisoned for a total of six weeks for twice breaching private anti-protest injunctions banning people from blocking traffic on the M25 in 2021 and 2022. She was also jailed for six weeks for gluing her hand to the dock during her plea hearing at a magistrates court in east London in 2022. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Most popular routes can be reached quickly by train, as government mulls expansion proposalMore than half of the journeys taken from London City airport last year can be reached in six hours or less by train, data reveals.The Labour government is preparing to make the final call on the airport's application to significantly increase its passenger numbers. The airport wants to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights. Continue reading...

When canec, Hawaii's building material, is damaged, it can release toxic dust like asbestos - requiring special cleanupWhen fire engulfed Lahaina last year, some of the older structures that burned contained canec, a historic Hawaiian-made building material made of solid sugarcane waste and potentially harmful inorganic arsenic.To date, the US army corps of engineers (USACE) has hauled off an estimated 14,000 tons of ash suspected of arsenic contamination from the drywall-like material once manufactured in Hilo. Continue reading...

Group finds elusive deep sea fish that has washed up in California only 20 times since 1901A group of people kayaking and snorkeling off the San Diego coast made an unusual discovery when they came across an oarfish, a rarely seen deep sea fish that has washed up in California only 20 times in over a century.The 12ft-long silvery fish was found floating dead in the water last weekend. The group, along with marine experts, helped bring the creature ashore for study. Continue reading...

Dr Adi Paterson's statements are apparently at odds with the group's official position, which says nuclear is needed to tackle the climate crisis

While the intention behind buying preloved is often rooted in sustainability, I'm uncomfortable enabling our culture's shopping addiction

Pilot whale that beached itself in 1973 was infested with thousands of parasitic nematodes that may have eaten away at its blowhole

Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio accused by fellow billionaire of using public beach as personal sandbox'In the posh city of Malibu, Barbie and Ken rollerblade, homes sell for up to $210m - and a billionaire is digging up the beach.In a lawsuit filed last week, the local resident James Kohlberg alleges that his neighbor, the billionaire businessman and baseball team owner Mark Attanasio, has been using construction equipment to excavate Malibu's Broad Beach and move sand on to his private property. Continue reading...

Analysis of Inflation Reduction Act suggests working-class Americans missing out on renewable energy transitionThe Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed exactly two years ago, was pitched as a policy that puts the middle class first". But the spending bill's residential tax credits have so far disproportionately benefited wealthy families, new data indicates.That's a major challenge for the efforts to decarbonize the US economy in time to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Friederike Otto of World Weather Attribution says poor people and outdoor workers are dying around the worldHeat inequality is causing thousands of unreported deaths in poor countries and communities across the world, a leading analyst of climate impacts has warned, following global temperature records that may not have been seen in 120,000 years.Sweltering conditions act as a stealthy killer that preys on the most economically fragile, said Friederike Otto, co-founder of World Weather Attribution, in an appeal for the media and authorities to pay more attention to the dangers. Continue reading...

People say they are determined and that prevention will be key to mitigating the effects of the climate crisisI used to talk to them every day." Dimitris Petrou takes in the creatures that were once his fluffy chicks but now look like coals. The buckled cage with its carbonised birds is part of the cataclysmic scenery left behind by the fire that bore down on Athens after raging across the Attica plains consuming everything in its path.The 72-year-old retiree and his wife, Frosso, though red-eyed and fatigued, are somehow still going" but are profoundly shocked. Continue reading...

Compound used in refrigeration and air conditioning accumulates at much higher levels that other chemicalsRain and air samples collected in metro Detroit that researchers checked for toxic PFAS forever chemicals" showed the highest levels of TFA, an alarming finding because the compound is a potent greenhouse gas and more toxic than previously thought, but not well-studied.While PFAS are a chemical class known to be ubiquitous in the environment, the new research is part of growing evidence around the globe that points to TFA, commonly used in refrigeration, air conditioning and clean energy technology, accumulating at much higher levels than other well-studied compounds. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

This year could beat 2023 for the hottest year on record as 15-month heat streak extends, according to NoaaThe world just had its hottest July ever recorded, elongating a string of monthly temperature highs that now stretch back for 15 consecutive months, US government scientists have announced.Last month was about 1.2C (2.1F) hotter than average across the globe, making it the hottest July on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday. This means that every month for the past 15 months has beaten its previous monthly record. Continue reading...

Judge had thrown out case against Trudi Warner, whose sign told jurors they had a right to acquit according to conscience'The government has dropped an appeal against a judge's decision to throw out a contempt case against a woman who stood outside a climate activist trial holding a placard about jury rights.In an email sent on Thursday, a lawyer from the government legal department, led by Richard Hermer, who was recently appointed attorney general, said they had further considered this case and decided not to pursue the appeal". Continue reading...

Foundation says it does not endorse any organizations' while funneling hundreds of thousands to rightwing causesA US foundation associated with the oil company Shell has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to religious right and conservative organizations, many of which deny that climate change is a crisis, tax records reveal.Fourteen of those groups are on the advisory board of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint proposing radical changes to the federal government, including severely limiting the Environment Protection Agency. Continue reading...

Paul Watson fighting efforts byJapan to have him stand trial there for 2010 confrontation with whalersA Greenland court has ordered the anti-whaling activist Paul Watson to remain in custody until 5 September pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan.Watson, an American-Canadian who has been detained since his arrest in Nuuk in July, had appealed against the court's decision, the statement on Thursday added. Continue reading...

Waterways trust boss calls incident infuriating' as Environment Agency investigates metal finishing firmThe Environment Agency has described a cyanide spill into a West Midlands canal as unacceptable" and promised robust action if any wrongdoing is found to have occurred.A major incident was declared after the spill of sodium cyanide into a canal in Walsall on Monday. The public have been advised to avoid about 12 miles of canals and towpaths in the area and on Thursday a UK waterways boss described the situation as distressing" and infuriating". Continue reading...

Police arrest Letzte Generation protesters who cut holes in fences and glued themselves to asphaltClimate activists have broken into four German airport sites, briefly bringing air traffic to a halt at two of those before police made arrests.Protesters from Letzte Generation - Germany's equivalent to Just Stop Oil - gained access on Thursday to airfields in areas near the takeoff and landing strips of Cologne-Bonn, Nuremberg, Berlin Brandenburg and Stuttgart airports at dawn. Air traffic was suspended for a short time at Nuremberg and Cologne-Bonn due to police operations. Continue reading...

The bank is latest to be named by officials in the US state, which has law to protect oil and gas sector

More than 10,000 people sign letter to justice department for federal investigation into industry's misinformationAllen Myers grew up in Paradise, California, which for him is sacred land". At age 11, he sat beside his mother's bedside as she passed away in his beloved family home. Years later, that house, along with 90% of the town, burned to the ground in the devastating 2018 Camp fire, which killed 85 people.Today, he is demanding the fossil fuel industry be held accountable for its role in that deadly blaze and other climate disasters. Myers and 1,000 survivors of climate disasters signed a letter delivered in person to the US Department of Justice on Thursday, demanding federal investigation into the fossil fuel industry's climate crimes". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Fish farms in Macquarie Harbour are the greatest threat to survival of ancient ray-like species, scientists advising Australian government find

Surveys suggest that wet weather and habitat deterioration are among the causes of devastating population declines, but there are ways to helpWhen Christina Letanka moved to Chiddingly village in East Sussex 28 years ago, insects were everywhere. Everything was prolific when we first arrived," she says. The kitchen used to be full of flies during the day and moths at night, swarming under the light. Now they've all gone."Fewer butterflies, wasps and hornets dance around in the garden. Normally everything comes out with the buddleia, but this year has been surprisingly bad - it's dead," Letanka says. Is it the wet? I don't know what's happened. It's been truly shocking." Continue reading...

After a series of mass mortality events, it is more common to find these huge Mediterranean clams dead. Which is why the species' biggest fangirl of all', Susan Smillie, is thrilled to see a thriving population in GreeceI swim and I stare as my shadow causes panic on the seabed below. Shells snap shut, one, two, three. Alive, alive, alive. I am so happy to see them: noble pen shells, all improbably but indisputably alive. These giant Mediterranean clams are a species on the verge of extinction, with so few left that it is rare to find one living anywhere in Europe.Often known as fan mussels, the moniker is a suitable one for this beautiful bivalve, its pearlescent point dug into the sand, fanning up to a rounded posterior. I'm in the Amvrakikos Gulf on the west coast of Greece, where I have the privilege of watching these creatures grow. Their presence is such good news that Spanish scientists have flown in to see the clams for themselves as part of an EU project focused on trying to rescue, and hopefully expand, what is left of the pen shell population. Continue reading...

District councils in low-lying areas say they have cut day-to-day services such as bin collections to fund pumping stationsThe costs of preventing major floods caused by extreme weather and excessive rainfall have fuelled a growing financial crisis among district councils in low-lying areas of England, ministers have been warned.Districts in the east of the country say they are having to cut day-to-day services such as bin collections to meet dramatic and unsustainable rises in payments levied to fund pumping stations used to protect communities from flooding. Continue reading...

LNG exports responsible for $957m in total annual US health costs, says new Greenpeace and Sierra Club reportThe expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports is responsible for scores of premature deaths and nearly $1bn in annual health costs, according to a new report from the green groups Greenpeace and Sierra Club.The report links air pollution from LNG export terminals to an estimated 60 premature deaths and $957m in total health costs each year, and found that if all planned and proposed terminals come online, those numbers would shoot up to 149 premature deaths and $2.33bn. Continue reading...

WA newspaper throws tantrum and Tony Abbott blames climate cult' after prime minister misses fossil fuel company's party

Experts say climate policies contained within rightwing manifesto would wreck US climate targets and cost jobsThe impact of Donald Trump enacting the climate policies of the rightwing Project 2025 would result in billions of tonnes of extra carbon pollution, wrecking the US's climate targets, as well as wiping out clean energy investments and more than a million jobs, a new analysis finds.Should Trump retake the White House and pass the energy and environmental policies in the controversial Project 2025 document, the US's planet-heating emissions will significantly increase" by 2.7bn tonnes above the current trajectory by 2030, an amount comparable to the entire annual emissions of India, according to the report. Continue reading...

As the climate crisis causes the Pacific to rise, the archipelago's water is increasingly unsafe to drinkChurch pastor Damien Hophand, who lives on the island of Malekula in Vanuatu with his wife and two children, has seen a change to the community's water supply recently - and it's not a welcome one. The wells are salty," says Hophand. It's not suitable for drinking."While many on the archipelago of 83 islands of Vanuatu get all their water from pipes, some, such as Hophand, have to supplement this with water from a well or pump. As the climate crisis forces sea levels to rise and cyclone winds thrash along the bays, seawater is seeping into the groundwater sources of low-lying islands, contaminating the supply and threatening the health of communities. Continue reading...

Exclusive: In 2024, 15 national temperature records have been set as weather extremes grow more frequent, climate historian says

Influx of highly pathogenic strain a case of not if, but when' and could devastate native wildlife, experts say

Public told to stay away from 12-mile stretch of canals and towpaths after spillage of toxic chemicalA major incident was in place on Wednesday after authorities said a spill of sodium cyanide into a West Midlands canal posed a serious health risk to the public.Members of the public are being advised to avoid a 12-mile stretch of canals and towpaths centred in Walsall after the toxic spillage, understood to have happened on Monday. Continue reading...

Kits emerge for after-dark dips in Northumberland, London, Kent and the Cairngorms after reintroduction driveA beaver baby boom is under way across Britain this summer in places where the species had been extinct for centuries.From Ealing in London to the Cairngorms in Scotland, and from Canterbury in Kent to the Wallington Estate in Northumberland, new kits have emerged from their lodges for an after-dark dip in the water. Continue reading...

Sources say government has dismissed some of the more ambitious ideas for fixing sewage crisisAnti-sewage campaigners have warned of extreme anger" if the Labour government does not radically reform the water regulator.Sources at the Environment Agency (EA) and in the Labour party have told the Guardian that while Labour had spent time considering reforms of the EA and Ofwat in order to fix the sewage crisis, some stricter options that had been proposed were now off the table. Continue reading...

Unicef analysis also finds children in eight countries spend more than half the year in temperatures above 35CAlmost half a billion children are growing up in parts of the world where there are at least twice the number of extremely hot days every year compared with six decades ago, analysis by Unicef has found.The analysis by the UN's children's agency examined for the first time data on changes in children's exposure to extreme heat over the past 60 years. Continue reading...

Charity Commission says tweets about environmental protections were inappropriate in tone and nature'The RSPB has been criticised by the English charities watchdog over social media posts in which it accused named government ministers of being liars" for watering down environmental protections.The Charity Commission said the tweets a year ago were inappropriate" in tone and nature", they had not been signed off at the correct level and the RSPB could have done more to prevent them going out. Continue reading...

Fires made at least three times more likely by climate crisis and emitted about 2bn tonnes of CO2, data revealsCanada's record-shattering" wildfires last year produced nearly as much greenhouse gas emissions in one season as would be expected over a decade of fires in normal circumstances, data has shown.The fires, in Canada's wildest season ever", were made at least three times more likely by the climate crisis, and produced about 2bn tonnes of CO, about a quarter of the total global emissions from wildfires last year, according to data in the State of Wildfires report, published on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Trump talked about nuclear warming' while Musk said the only reason to quit fossil fuels is that their supply is finiteDonald Trump and Elon Musk both made discursive, often fact-free assertions about global heating, including that rising sea levels would create more oceanfront property" and that there was no urgent need to cut carbon emissions, during an event labeled the dumbest climate conversation of all time" by one prominent activist.Trump, the Republican US presidential nominee, and Musk, the world's richest person, dwelled on the problem of the climate crisis during their much-hyped conversation on X, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Musk, on Monday, agreeing that the world has plenty of time to move away from fossil fuels, if at all. Continue reading...