Two scientists take the long view on climate change.There’s a myopia in the climate discourse today.“Everyone is focused on what happens by 2100. But that’s only 2 generations from today. It’s like: If the world ends in 2100 we’re probably OK!” says Professor Richard Zeebe of the University of Hawai’i. “But It’s very clear that over a longer timescale there will be much bigger changes.” Continue reading...

YouGov study for Sainsbury’s reveals high cost of Britain’s food waste, with the average family of four throwing away the equivalent of 11 meals – or nearly £60 – a month

After receiving a call from a distressed homeowner about a large lace monitor lizard that has been menacing her chickens, professional snake catcher Ross, from the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers in south-east Queensland, tracks down the goanna. He struggles to avoid the very sharp claws of the creature that the late eco-warrior Steve Irwin referred to as a ‘land crocodile’, but luckily, a few scratches later, it is safely relocated

Cheaper than electric cars and easier to charge, the latest electric or pedal-assist bikes are a practical solution to commuting in the cityThey say there is nothing as zealous as a convert. As someone who last year joined the growing numbers of commuters who zoom into work by electric bike, I could not be more zealous.Related: Australia's biggest bike-lane sceptic 'wants to destroy cycling in Sydney' Continue reading...

Researchers find octopuses, which are known for being solitary, are not above a little spat with the neighbours and have a complex social life when they coexistThey’re more closely related to oysters than they are to mammals but it turns out octopuses are surprisingly similar to us when it comes to fighting with their neighbours.Octopuses, renowned for surprising intelligence, were usually pretty solitary beings, said Peter Godfrey-Smith from the University of Sydney. “You do tend to see them on their own. And if you put two octopuses in a tank together you often end up with one octopus,” he told Guardian Australia. Continue reading...

Four albino peregrine eggs were seized from a convicted wildlife trafficker at an airport in Brazil. One survived to be returned to a nest on a Patagonian cliff faceRelated: 'Wildlife criminal' goes to jail for smuggling falcon eggsA rare falcon egg stolen from its nest in Chile to be trafficked to Dubai for tens of thousands of dollars survived and hatched a chick, but three others failed to make it. Continue reading...

Analysts question risks after Brisbane minnow raises less than $750,000 to buy Anglo-American coalmine with a $121m to clean-up obligationA Brisbane mining minnow that raised less than $750,000 from investors before inking a deal to buy a coalmine must now guarantee it can pay more than $120m to clean up the site upon closure.

Green campaigners disappointed by advice from the Climate Change Committee not to revise budget that is currently based on keeping global warming to 2C rather than the new target of 1.5CThe UK’s carbon budget for the early 2030s does not need to be tightened despite a tougher global warming target agreed in Paris last month, the government’s climate advisers have told ministers.Campaigners said a letter published on Thursday from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) to energy and climate secretary, Amber Rudd, was “desperately disappointing” for failing to increase the ambition of the so-called fifth carbon budget in light of the Paris climate deal. Continue reading...

... of course, they’re not going to do that. So how do managers balance their climate change fears and the reality of the business world?Earlier this week Tim Sanderson, a former executive of the fossil fuel giant BP, wrote about the pride he felt for his daughter after her involvement in a climate change protest at Heathrow airport. With 12 others from climate activist group Plane Stupid, Rebecca Sanderson had occupied a runway to highlight the conflict between airport expansion and escalating carbon emissions.Having spent most of his working life in oil exploration, Sanderson said he was an “unlikely apologist” for his daughter’s actions. However, climate change had become a galvanising issue for his family. When his daughter and her colleagues were convicted for aggravated trespass – and face a likely jail term – the former oil executive stood with other protesters loudly chanting: “No ifs, no buts, no new runways”. As with a growing number of business people, Sanderson’s story demonstrates how climate change has become an increasingly personal business. Continue reading...

Sandy, Bedfordshire This annual watch gives pause to think who is sharing our garden, and to look more intentlyIn the weeks leading up to the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch hundreds of thousands of gardens become objects of intense scrutiny. Will the great tit on the cherry tree be there on the day to be counted? Will long-tailed tits deign to pass through? Such thoughts flash through my mind, but this annual activity also gives pause to think about exactly who might be sharing our space, and to spend more time looking more intently than usual.Related: RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch confirms many species still declining Continue reading...

Mo Hailong stole inbred corn seeds, developed by Monsanto and DuPont in Iowa, as part of plan to use them in Chinese businessA Chinese man pleaded guilty in a US court on Wednesday to stealing patent-protected corn seed from agribusiness giants Monsanto and DuPont to take back to China for commercial use.

Severe bleaching can be lethal to reef systems, triggering long-term degradation through the erosion of underlying structuresA coral scientist has warned that early official optimism that the Great Barrier Reef will be spared the worst of a predicted worldwide coral bleaching event is misplaced.The Queensland minister for the environment and the reef, Steven Miles, announced on Thursday that signs of only minor damage through the Australian summer to date had raised hopes the reef would not fall victim to its third major bleaching episode in two decades. Continue reading...

In an interview on ABC’s 7.30 report in November last year, the environment minister, Greg Hunt, describes the Yale environment performance index as ‘the most credible, scientifically based, hard data-based analysis in the world’, to defend Australia’s record on climate change. In the index’s latest ratings, Australia has dropped 10 spots, leaving only Saudi Arabia with a worse ranking among wealthy nations in some categories Continue reading...

Oxford University research also finds Australian, Chinese and US coal-fired power stations are the most vulnerable to environmental dangersAustralian thermal coalmines are some of the riskiest in the world for investors because of their exposure to environmental dangers, according to a report from Oxford University.The report – which was supported by Norges Bank Investment Management, managers of Norway’s government pension fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund – also found that Australian, Chinese and US coal-fired power stations were the most vulnerable to environmental risks. Continue reading...

Environment minister has described Yale’s environmental performance index as ‘the most credible ... in the world’ but Australia performs badly in latest ratingsThe index that Greg Hunt used to defend Australia’s record on climate change has placed the country lower in its rankings, leaving only Saudi Arabia with a worse ranking among wealthy nations in some categories.Yale’s environmental performance index ranks countries’ performance in protecting human health and ecosystems, and looks at nine areas including air quality, climate and energy, forests and water resources. Continue reading...

Climate change experts say construction should go ahead – but households should be made aware of possible threatsHomes and businesses should continue to be built on flood plains across the UK despite the increasing risks, according to government advisers on climate change.Lord Krebs, the government’s statutory adviser on adapting to the effects of global warming, told an influential committee of MPs on Wednesday that although recent flooding has caused houses and other buildings to be inundated, property could continue to be constructed on flood plains. He said that the attendant risks and the possible devastation would have to be made clear to households, local government and developers. Continue reading...

In all the debates about how to protect against floods from intense rain, very little is heard about Britain’s rainforests. These are the closest thing we’ve got to tropical rainforests – woodlands drenched in rain, thick with humid air and criss-crossed with gurgling streams and waterfalls, yet all in a mild climate.These woodlands are invaluable for protecting against flooding; they act like sponges, soaking up the heavy rain. Continue reading...