Experts are calling for stricter limits on numbers of those flocking to Baja California Sur to swim with the animals in the wild. But some local tour operators are not convincedJust after sunrise in the small village of La Ventana in Baja California Sur, the beach is bustling with wetsuit-clad tourists. They climb into Mexican fishing boats and race out into the windy blue bay, cameras at the ready. The fishers turned tour guides follow a couple of ocean safari yachts, which follow directions from pilots sent up in spotter planes. The goal of this 40-boat cavalcade? To enable swimming with orcas in the wild.Swimming with orcas in Mexico falls into a legal grey area as it exploits loopholes in two Mexican laws that protect endangered marine wildlife. This has become particularly problematic in the past five years since selfies with the whales on social media have led to an increase in the number of people wanting to try the activity. Continue reading...

Governments must help households to make the switch to cleaner energy, and change the rules so that the benefits and costs are fairly shared

Braunschweig court gives two former executives prison sentences for roles in emissions test-cheating scandalA German court has convicted four former Volkswagen managers of fraud and given two of them prison sentences for their part in the dieselgate" emissions test-cheating scandal that erupted almost a decade ago.The former head of development Heinz-Jakob Neusser received a suspended jail term of one year and three months from the court in the city of Braunschweig, according to the news agency Bloomberg. Continue reading...

Upemba lechwe considered one of world's rarest large mammals with fewer than 100 thought to remainA photograph of Africa's forgotten antelope" has been published for the first time as the elusive creature dives towards extinction.Fewer than 100 Upemba lechwe are thought to remain, with an aerial survey in the Kamalondo depression of the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo having recorded 10 individuals. Continue reading...

Environment minister Murray Watt is due to make a decision on whether to extend the controversial North West Shelf development in coming days

Exclusive: Disaster Relief Australia pushes for funding deal as it positions itself as alternative to ADF in aftermath of floods, fires and cyclones

Volunteers, organized by landscape architecture firm Terremoto, clear invasive plants and restore native fauna: It's a years-long relationship with the land' Continue reading...

Brutal heat and drought expected to blanket country from Nevada to Florida as experts worry climate cuts will burnThis year's summer months promise to be among the hottest on record across the United States, continuing a worsening trend of extreme weather, and amid concern over the impacts of Trump administration cuts to key agencies.The extreme heat could be widespread and unrelenting: only far northern Alaska may escape unusually warm temperatures from June through August, according to the latest seasonal forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

For decades, the men and women of the Venezuelan Crocodile Specialist Group have been raising younglings of the critically endangered species in a race against time to avoid its extinction Continue reading...

Local options such as rooftop solar and battery storage could play larger role in backing up power system, Aemo says

Green groups and industry warn axing of Moonlight Range Wind Farm project risks undermining confidence in renewables

Crisafulli government's $88m plan for more shark nets and baited drum lines at popular beaches may fall foul of federal laws

A groundbreaking tree-planting programme is uniting farmers and rewilders, as portions of common ground in the Yorkshire Dales national park are being restored to their ancient glory

Shane Jones is unapologetic about his plan to double mineral exports to $3bn over the next decade despite criticism over potential environmental impactsNew Zealand's minister for resources, Shane Jones, said he will not be guilt-tripped by apocalyptic images" of mining and its effects on the environment put forward by his critics, as he embarks on a major mining push.Jones, a member of the minor populist coalition party New Zealand First, wants to double mineral exports to $3bn over the next decade, to boost economic growth and minimise the country's reliance on imported resources, even if it results in environmental trade-offs. Continue reading...

Stark warnings about threatened coastal areas should prompt fresh efforts to protect those most at riskIn his classic study of the 17th-century Dutch golden age, The Embarrassment of Riches, the art historian SimonSchama showed how the biblical story of Noah's ark resonated in a culture where catastrophic floods were an ever-present threat. The history of the Netherlands includes multiple instances of storms breaching dikes, leading to disastrous losses of life and land. These traumatic episodes were reflected in the country's art and literature, as well as its engineering.In countries where floods are less of a danger, memories tend to be more localised: a mark on a wall showing how high waters rose when a town's river flooded; a seaside garden such as the one in Felixstowe, Suffolk, to commemorate the night in 1953 when 41people lost their lives there. Continue reading...

Like many in the region, the third-generation farmer is burying his dead stock. He says he is at breaking point'

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Ten years after the reintroduction of western quolls and brushtail possums into the Ikara-Flinders Ranges national park, rangers say populations of the once-locally extinct mammals are flourishing. In a joint effort between Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species and the South Australian government, the animals live in 'safer havens' in the park where predator numbers have been reduced Continue reading...

Differing interpretations of public access rights are at heart of Brockwell case pitting campaign group against festival fansPublic parks have been a cherished part of British life since the 19th century; for the Victorians they represented a commitment to cultivate public good within the public realm".But differing interpretations of this vision for municipal green space are at the heart of a debate over a very 21st-century issue: music festivals. Continue reading...

Nettles, hedge garlic, sticky weed: Britain in May is a lush salad bar that I can't resist, and it's doing wonders for my skinI had a daughter during one of the bone-cold early months of this year, which means that my full-time job is now to produce a yield. Between the hours of dawn and midnight, with a few lactic minutes in between, I am a feeding machine for a new person.And it is this, perhaps, that has led to my somewhat strange new eating habits. Pregnancy may traditionally be the time associated with cravings and aversions - the old cliches of sardines and jam, coal and creosote, bread and crackers. But here, in my postnatal feeding frenzy, I'm eating nettles by the handful. I am chomping on sticky weed. I have been biting the heads off dandelions (bitter - like really serious dark chocolate) and sucking the nectar from inside honeysuckle. This recent chlorophyll gala has, of course, coincided with England's greatest month: May. Some of us love the look of May, some of us enjoy the smells. But for me, this year, the greatest heady, verdant, leaf-rich pleasure of my life is to eat May by the bushel.Nell Frizzell is a journalist and authorDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Reefs off the Keys have lost 90% of healthy coral cover in 40 years, but replanting effort aims to make reef more resilientA taskforce of experts looking into the mass bleaching and decline of Florida's delicate coral reefs is planting more than 1,000 nursery-grown juveniles from the reef-building elkhorn species in a new effort to reverse the tide of destruction.Record ocean heat in 2023 hastened the death spiral for reefs in the Florida Keys, which have lost 90% of their healthy coral cover over the last 40 years, largely because of the climate emergency, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

New rules for zoos and aquariums include guidance on elephant enclosures and ban on touching fishZoos will be obliged to boost conservation efforts and improve animal welfare under the first revision of mandatory standards for the sector in more than a decade.Under the update to the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain, last set out in 2012, elephants will need to be kept in larger enclosures and birds of prey must be kept in large aviaries rather than being tethered. Continue reading...

Backbencher says it's time to resolve the issues of access to the English countryside once and for all'Labour backbenchers are pressing the government to revive a right to roam policy in England after a supreme court ruling enshrined the right to wild camp on Dartmoor.The court ruled this week that camping on the national park was legal after a multimillionaire hedge fund manager tried to remove the right to camp on his Devon estate, and by extension from the rest of the park. Continue reading...

Two-month-old black bear, who was starving in a California forest, is youngest cub the San Diego center has cared forHuman bears, some would say, are taking care of a two-month-old cub that spent days without his mother, starving in a California forest.The small black bear cub was rescued by campers in Los Padres national forest after being found alone and starving. The infant bear is now recovering at San Diego Humane Society's Ramona Wildlife Center, and is believed to be the youngest cub the organization has ever cared for. Continue reading...

President aims to construct new nuclear reactors as he implements his own energy policies and undoes Joe Biden'sDonald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Friday intended to spur a nuclear energy renaissance" through the construction of new reactors he said would satisfy the electricity demands of data centers for artificial intelligence and other emerging industries.The orders represented the president's latest foray into the policy underlying America's electricity supply. Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office over and moved to undo a ban implemented by Joe Biden on new natural gas export terminals and expand oil and gas drilling in Alaska. Continue reading...

MPs had previously backed Conservative amendment to ask developers to provide hollow bricks for endangered birdsProviding every new home with at least one swift brick" to help endangered cavity-nesting birds has been rejected by Labour at the committee stage of its increasingly controversial planning bill.The amendment to the bill to ask every developer to provide a 35 hollow brick for swifts, house martins, sparrows and starlings, which was tabled by Labour MP Barry Gardiner, has been rejected by the Labour-dominated committee. Continue reading...

The Brazilian photographer has died at 81, leaving behind a career filled with striking images taken around the world. Through the lens of his camera, Sebastiao tirelessly fought for a more just, humane and ecological world,' a statement from his family read.

Brazilian photographer's work highlighted injustice and introduced rainforest to the world

Party spokesperson says policy has clear benefits for securing jobs and energy independence'Reform UK has promised to reverse the government's ban on fresh North Sea oil and gas drilling as a day one" priority if elected to power, with the taxpayer taking a stake in the projects.Richard Tice, the party's deputy leader, has met with senior UK oil executives in recent weeks to pledge the party's support for the industry, which has been hit hard by the government's windfall tax and moves to block fresh North Sea exploration licences. Continue reading...

Chris Weston, CEO of Britain's biggest water company, faces questions over paused' executive bonus schemeThe chief executive of Thames Water has been ordered to tell MPs whether any executives have received payments from a controversial bonus package taken from a 3bn loan.Britain's biggest water company admitted last week that senior managers were in line for substantial" bonuses linked to an emergency 3bn loan. Thames claimed the payouts were vital to retain staff and prevent rival companies from picking off" its best employees. The disclosure provoked fury as the company has said its finances are hair-raising" and that it came very close to running out of money entirely" last year. Continue reading...

Farm country voted for Trump in 2024, but many of his actions - from tariffs to federal cuts - are hurting growersDonald Trump may have won the votes of the US's most farming-dependent counties by an average of 78% in the 2024 election. But the moves made by his administration in the past few months - imposing steep tariffs, immigration policies that target the migrant labor farmers rely on, and canceling a wide range of USDA programs - have left many farmers reeling.The policies of the Trump administration are wreaking havoc on family farmers. It's been terrible," said John Bartman, a row crop farmer in Illinois. Bartman is owed thousands of dollars for sustainable practices he implemented on his row crop operation as part of the USDA's Climate-Smart program. Continue reading...

Signs more typically seen in Australia aim to raise awareness after more than 30 moorland fires since MarchWildfire warning signs normally seen in the parched Australian outback have been installed on English moorland for the first time.In a stark illustration of the worsening impact of the climate emergency, signs have been put up in the Peak District and south Pennines, where there have been more than 30 moorland fires since March. Continue reading...

Study details evolutionary change of Anna's hummingbirds and finds ranges have expanded to follow such devicesWhich came first: the feeder or the bird?A seemingly straightforward question, but the answer might not be so simple. According to a recently published study in Global Change Biology, the use of human-made hummingbird feeders has changed the beak sizes and shapes of Anna's hummingbirds, and spread their range from a narrow pocket of California all the way up the coast to British Columbia. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese acknowledges home insurance now a real challenge' as government announces disaster assistance for 19 local council areas in NSW

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

Guardians will highlight bravery of unseen, unheard and undervalued' protectors of natural world, prince saysWildlife rangers perform one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet", the Prince of Wales has said at the launch of a docuseries highlighting these unseen, unheard and undervalued" heroes of the natural world.William, who presents Guardians, a six-part series launching on Friday, said championing the protectors of the natural world was particularly special as he had met many of them on his travels. Continue reading...

All the key points laid out in the US president's House-approved sweeping bill as it awaits Senate considerationThe Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday passed the One Big Beautiful Bill act, which would enact Donald Trump's taxation and spending priorities. The legislation will now be considered in the Senate, where the Republican majority will probably make its own changes.Here is what the version of the bill passed by the House would do: Continue reading...

Legislation would dismantle regulations in farming, mining and energy, increasing risk of widespread destructionEnvironmental activists in Brazil have decried a dramatic rollback of environmental safeguards after the senate approved a bill that would dismantle licensing processes and increase the risk of widespread destruction.The upper house passed the so-called devastation bill" with 54 votes to 13 late on Wednesday, paving the way for projects ranging from mining and infrastructure to energy and farming to receive regulatory approval with little to no environmental oversight. Continue reading...

Exclusive: expert raises concerns over quantities allowed to be discharged from nuclear fuel factory near PrestonThe Environment Agency has allowed a firm to dump three tonnes of uranium into one of England's most protected sites over the past nine years, it can be revealed, with experts sounding alarm over the potential environmental impact of these discharges.Documents obtained by the Guardian and the Ends Report through freedom of information requests show that a nuclear fuel factory near Preston discharged large quantities of uranium - legally, under its environmental permit conditions - into the River Ribble between 2015 and 2024. The discharges peaked in 2015 when 703kg of uranium was discharged, according to the documents. Continue reading...

Newsom issues rallying cry as GOP-controlled Senate votes to reverse EPA waiver and prevent state setting own rulesCalifornia has long been one of the nation's preeminent eco-warriors, enacting landmark environmental standards for cars and trucks that go much further than those mandated by the federal government. Vehicles across the country are cleaner, more efficient and electric in greater numbers because of it.But that could all change if Donald Trump and his Republican allies manage to revoke the state's ability to set its own, stricter emissions standards amid a White House crusade to combat climate-friendly policies. Continue reading...

Bill will unleash millions more tonnes of planet-heating pollution and couldn't come at a worse time, say expertsA Republican push to dismantle clean energy incentives threatens to reverberate across the US by costing more than 830,000 jobs, raising energy bills for US households and threatening to unleash millions more tonnes of the planet-heating pollution that is causing the climate crisis, experts have warned.A major tax bill passed by the Republican-held House of Representatives on Thursday morning will, as currently written, demolish key components of climate legislation signed by Joe Biden that has spurred a record torrent of renewable energy and electric vehicle investment in the US. Continue reading...

Revealed: an investigation shows how consumers buying fish in the UK are playing a role in food insecurity and unemployment in SenegalRead more: Chris Packham calls sea bass labelling in UK supermarkets a dereliction of duty'At the entrance to the fish market in Joal-Fadiouth, a coastal town in central Senegal, a group of women have set up shop under the shade of a small pavilion. A few years ago, they say, the market would have been bustling with ice-cream sellers, salt vendors and horse-drawn carts delivering freshly caught fish to the women, who would set about sun-drying, salting and sorting the catch into affordable portions for local families to buy.Today, trade is dead, says Aissatou Wade, one of the remaining small-scale fish processors left in the town. Without fish [to sell], we have no money to send our children to school, buy food or get help if we fall ill," she says. Continue reading...

With more intense rain forecast, the SES has a fleet of 500 boats and nine helicopters trying to assist 48,000 people isolated in flood waters

Taree resident Phill Smith captured the moment a woman was rescued from flood waters, declaring the crew involved in the rescue 'definitely deserve an Australia Day just for themselves'. Unprecedented flooding has hit the New South Wales mid-north coast, with further rain predicted to come

Introduced from South America, mathenge was intended to halt desertification, but now three-quarters of the country is at risk of invasion by the invasive treeFor his entire life, John Lmakato has lived in Lerata, a village nestled at the foot of Mount Ololokwe in northern Kenya's Samburu county. This used to be a treeless land. Grass covered every inch of the rangelands, and livestock roamed freely," he says.Lmakato's livestock used to roam freely in search of pasture, but three years ago he lost 193 cattle after they wandered into a conservation area in Laikipia - known for the fight over land access between Indigenous pastoralists and commercial ranchers. Continue reading...

Australia should also make moves to address the climate impact of its fossil fuel production and exportsWatching from the western Pacific, we saw many describe Australia's recent election as a decisive moment for climate and energy policy. If that was the case, the people of Australia have spoken loud and clear.Like many of us in the Pacific had hoped, most Australians wanted to throw off the shackles of the last decade's climate wars" and usher in a new era of responsible climate and energy policy, one that harnesses the limitless potential of Australia's renewable energy superpowers and helps lead the Pacific region and the world to a safer and more prosperous climate future. Continue reading...

Residents describe anxious waits for rescue as unprecedented level of flooding strikes the Manning river

Researchers suggest buzzing noises could be used as environmentally friendly way to enhance crop pollinationPlants can hear" bees buzzing and serve up more nectar when they are nearby, scientists have found.The research suggests that plants are a more active partner than previously thought in their symbiotic relationship with pollinators. The behaviour could be a survival strategy that favours giving nectar and sugar to bees over so-called nectar robbers that do not offer plants any reproductive benefits. Continue reading...

Twenty-eight-year-old bear, who had been at Highland Wildlife Park since 2015, is euthanised on vets' adviceThe UK's oldest polar bear, and the first in the country to give birth to a cub in 25 years, has been put down because of age-related health problems.Victoria was 28 and had been kept in Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands since 2015. Vets at the park took the decision to euthanise her on Tuesday morning after an assessment about her quality of life and wellbeing. Since December she had been receiving geriatric care after showing signs of arthritis. Continue reading...

Over breakfast at Tom's Restaurant, right below the historic Giss lab, James Hansen calls Doge's decision a big mistake'Perched above the New York City diner made famous by the TV show Seinfeld, Tom's Restaurant, a small research laboratory became, improbably, crucial to humanity's understanding of our changing climate and of the universe itself.Now, it is being shut down by Donald Trump's administration. Continue reading...