Environment | The Guardian

Parliamentary committee recommends overhead transmission but groups opposing 360km of lines being built across regional NSW vow to keep fighting

Electrical Trades Union boss Troy Gray says campaign to continue the activity will now expand

A forest rodeo, a hidden stargazer and a mason bee at work are just a few of the awe-inspiring images featured in the 59th wildlife photographer of the year competition.The Natural History Museum in London will unveil the latest wildlife photographer of the year exhibition showcasing 100 extraordinary photographs from around the world on 13 October 2023.This year's competition attracted an astounding 49,957 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 95 countries. Entries were judged on their creativity, originality, and technical excellence by an international panel of industry experts.The winners of each category, and the prestigious grand title and young grand title awards, will be announced on 10 October 2023 at a ceremony hosted by wildlife television presenters and conservationists Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin Continue reading...

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Idalia makes landfall on Florida's Gulf coast with torrential rains and 125mph winds and heads up coast to Georgia and the Carolinas

Almost 7bn wiped off value of world's largest offshore wind company over possible 1.8bn write-downShares in the world's largest offshore wind company have tumbled by nearly a quarter after it said it may have to write down the value of its US portfolio by nearly 2bn.Orsted said it had been hit by a flurry of setbacks in its American business, triggering a rapid sell-off in its shares, listed in Copenhagen. Continue reading...

Office for Environmental Protection chair tells ministers plan will degrade England's rivers and demands that they explain it to MPsPlans to rip up pollution rules for housebuilders are a regression" that will degrade England's rivers, the government's environment watchdog has said.An amendment tabled by the government to the levelling up bill orders local authorities to ignore nutrient pollution from new developments in ecologically sensitive areas in England, including the Norfolk Broads and the Lake District. These nutrients, when untreated, cause algal blooms that choke the life from rivers. Continue reading...

Report reveals foreign interests hold 11.3% of Australia's water entitlements - about half of which are in the food and fibre producing Murray-Darling Basin

Greens leader says Albanese government is hellbent on opening more coal and gas mines' and people must fight back'The Australian Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has called on people to join disruptive climate protests to pressure the Albanese government to stop opening new fossil fuel mines, saying he plans to help blockade the country's largest coal port.He has also written to the leaders of 16 Pacific Island nations suggesting they should make any support for an Australia bid to host a UN climate summit conditional on the government taking stronger climate action". Continue reading...

One of the endangered marsupials was found dead close to the controversial operation in Tallaganda state forest near Canberra

Key meteorologist says timing is pretty bad for this one' as moon expected to make tidal flooding worseA rare blue supermoon could raise tides above normal just as Hurricane Idalia smashes its way across Florida's west coast, exacerbating flooding from the storm.The moon will be closest to the Earth on Wednesday, the day Idalia made landfall in Florida. While a supermoon can make for a spectacular backdrop in photos of landmarks around the world, its intensified gravitational pull also makes tides higher. Continue reading...

Rule requires wetlands to be more clearly connected to other waters, overturning half-century of federal regulationThe Biden administration weakened regulations protecting millions of acres of wetlands on Tuesday, saying it had no choice after the supreme court sharply limited the federal government's jurisdiction over them.The rule would require that wetlands be more clearly connected to other waters like oceans and rivers, a policy shift that departs from a half-century of federal rules governing the nation's waterways. Continue reading...

Follow-up to 2015 encyclical on climate crisis urges people to take side of victims of environmental injustice'Pope Francis has said he will issue a follow-up document on the protection of nature because a terrible world war" against the environment was taking place.The pontiff said the papal statement - a follow-up to his 2015 encyclical on the climate crisis - would be issued on 4 October, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the environment. Continue reading...

The hurricane could strengthen to category 3 by the time it hits the state's coast, with a storm surge of up to 12ft

The scraps in your bin marked compost' may end up as methane. Here's what that meansWhen orange bins marked for compost" drop-off first started proliferating on the streets of New York in February as part of a department of sanitation pilot, many residents celebrated. I was one of them: even as an environmental reporter who has visited the landfill where my trash ends up and is well aware of the problems with food waste, the lack of convenient composting options near me was often prohibitive. Having a bin within walking distance I could access at any time meant all my food waste would finally be converted back into soil.Or at least that's what I thought it meant, until the news broke in April that the contents of those compost" bins mostly don't go to compost sites, but to an anaerobic digester at a wastewater treatment plant called Newtown Creek. There, the food waste is mixed into sewage before being converted partially into methane. Continue reading...

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The warming planet is causing steep declines among some of the world's 26,000 wild polar bears, but it is not universal and the picture is complicated, say expertsAlone in the Arctic, surrounded by disappearing sea ice ... few fables of the climate crisis are better known than the plight of the polar bear. The marine mammals are heavily dependent on sea ice for hunting, and as the Arctic warms, scientists warn they will become extinct across much of the region.Long term declines have already been recorded in three of the 19 polar bear subpopulations found across the Arctic, including those in the western part of Hudson Bay in Canada - among the most southerly populations - whose numbers dropped from an estimated 842 to 618 between 2016 and 2021. Continue reading...

Government to state that climate crisis poses systemic risk to bond value after class action brought by student Katta O'Donnell

Ministers have claimed Ulez is cash-raising ploy - but letter reveals Grant Shapps backed a separate charge for same reasonMinisters have been accused of hypocrisy in claiming Sadiq Khan expanded London's ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to raise revenue after it emerged the Department for Transport urged the mayor to extend the city's congestion charge for the same reason.On the first day of Ulez covering every London borough there was renewed bickering between the Labour mayor and the government, with Khan castigating Mark Harper, the transport secretary, for what he called factual mistakes after the pair crossed paths at a TV studio. Continue reading...

Only two companies make bids for right to develop offshore wind off Gulf coast, in setback for administration's green-energy plansThe Biden administration on Tuesday held the first ever auction for the right to develop offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico, with just one of the three available leases provisionally awarded and only two bidders.The historic sale fell on the anniversaries of 2005's Hurricane Katrina and 2021's Hurricane Ida, climate crisis-fueled disasters that devastated Gulf communities. It also comes the day after the Gulf cities of New Orleans and Houston saw their hottest temperatures in recorded history, and as the largest wildfire in state history ravages Louisiana. Continue reading...

The acclaimed writer takes on a new challenge with his first art show, bringing together work and writing that tells a long history of environmental changeClimate change is a very complex topic that is not just about data and information and physics, it's about culture and politics and psychological responses," the author and newly minted museum curator Jeff Goodell said to the Guardian. It's about how we choose to live, what we value. The science part of it is a small sliver of the larger conversation - it's really important, but it's just the beginning of the conversation. There are vast dimensions of thinking about this subject that we have not really begun to approach."He's speaking from Austin, Texas, where he's putting the finishing touches on a new show at the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas. Called If the Sky Were Orange, it seeks to bring complexity and curiosity to a climate change discourse that is often reduced to political polarization and degrees fahrenheit. Goodell hopes in talking about climate change in ways that are often not heard, the show will generate new thinking that might move us beyond the familiar impasses. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese continues to reject calls to make even a sanitised version of the assessment public

Eleven planes and a helicopter from the bloc have been sent to help Greece counter the fireA forest blaze in Greece is the largest wildfire ever recorded in the EU" and the bloc is mobilising nearly half its firefighting air wing to tackle it, a European Commission spokesperson has said.Eleven planes and one helicopter from the EU fleet have been sent to help Greece counter the fire north of the city of Alexandroupoli, along with 407 firefighters, Balazs Ujvari said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

When civil war broke out in 2015, a leaky oil tanker in the Red Sea became a crisis point - triggering a nail-biting series of events that saw special negotiations between the Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government, and the UN begging the public for help - and getting it from a bunch of US schoolchildrenSince 1988, the hulking form of the FSO Safer has floated in the Red Sea, receiving crude oil from the bountiful Marib oilfields of Yemen. For 30 years, the ship was a critical piece of infrastructure in Yemen's booming oil industry, which at one time generated 63% of government revenue.But the civil war broke out in 2014, and most of the Safer's crew were forced to abandon ship, leaving behind its cargo: 1.1m barrels of oil. Against mounting costs and security risks, maintaining the vessel became near impossible. Continue reading...

Fossil Free Media, a non-profit media organization, installed the ads in cities rocked by heatwaves including Phoenix and AustinDrive down the highways of Phoenix, Arizona; Austin, Texas; or Fresno, California, this week and you may see an unfamiliar advertisement, thanks to a group of climate activists.The non-profit media organization Fossil Free Media has unveiled a series of billboards calling out oil and gas companies for their role in fueling climate disasters. Installed in cities hit hard by recent heatwaves, the ads feature a map of temperature records broken across the country this summer, and read: Brought to you by Big Oil." Continue reading...

Under Lords amendment, developers will no longer have to offset nutrient pollution from new homes' sewage

World's biggest carbon emitter approving equivalent of two new coal plants a week, analysis showsChina is approving new coal power projects at the equivalent of two plants every week, a rate energy watchdogs say is unsustainable if the country hopes to achieve its energy targets.The government has pledged to peak emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2060, and in 2021 the president, Xi Jinping, promised to stop building coal powered plants abroad. Continue reading...

Warmer winters, late freezes and wildly variable rainfall have formed a perfect storm to wreck the one of the region's favorite fruitsFarming is inherently risky, a profession that always involves an expectation of loss and damage. But among many farmers, peaches are considered an unpredictable crop, with high risks and high rewards.Farming peaches is like gambling in a casino," said 44-year-old Robert Jackson II, of Lyman, South Carolina. The fruit bruises easily and is vulnerable to weather changes, but can earn handsome profits. Continue reading...

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Canada and UK only donor countries to contribute so far, leaving scheme short of $40m to formally launchDeveloped countries have been urged to contribute to a new nature fund after it was left undercapitalised by $40m (32m), receiving money from just two donors.At the Cop15 biodiversity summit in December, where countries agreed this decade's biodiversity targets that included aims to protect 30% of Earth, governments agreed to the creation of a fund to help developing countries meet the deal's aims, which included a target to provide $200bn for nature a year by 2030. Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan defends expansion of ultra-low emission zone as government continues to criticise itClean air is a right not a privilege", the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said as the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) was expanded to include the outer boroughs of London.People who drive in the zone in a vehicle that does not meet minimum emissions standards are required to pay a 12.50 daily fee or risk a 180 fine, reduced to 90 if paid within 14 days. Continue reading...

Swedish teenager Ia Anstoot says group's unscientific' opposition to EU nuclear power serves fossil fuel interestsAn 18-year-old climate activist has called for Greenpeace to drop its old-fashioned and unscientific" campaign against nuclear power in the EU.In April, the environmental campaign group announced it would appeal against the EU Commission's decision to include nuclear power in its classification system for sustainable finance. This taxonomy" is designed as a guide for private investors wanting to fund green projects, aiming to boost environmental investment. Continue reading...

Protesters arrested after blocking route to festival, leading to fiery exchanges and threatsThe road into Burning Man is a rural, two-lane highway winding through north-west Nevada. Approximately 80,000 people make an annual pilgrimage to the beloved bacchanal, many hauling trailers and RVs across miles of scorching desert in order to make it to their fabled Gomorrah. This year, however, climate activists temporarily halted the influx of eager festivalgoers, blocking the road with a 28-foot trailer and causing a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam for over an hour. They clashed with outraged Burning Man attendees as well as Nevada rangers.In recent years, Burning Man has drifted from its hippy roots and become better known for luxury RVs, wild orgies, and Silicon Valley bros. Protestors from the Seven Circles -a coalition of activists representing the climate groups Extinction Rebellion, Rave Revolution, and Scientist Rebellion - demanded that Burning Man ban private jets and single-use plastics, as well as unlimited generator and propane use. Signs painted with the slogans Burners of the world, unite!", Mother Earth needs our help" and System change" were erected around the blockade, while four activists chained themselves to the trailer and locked arms through PVC pipes. Continue reading...

Ministers hope anti-green message will impress voters, as London mayor says he is a doer, not a delayer'

Exclusive: Announcement set to anger environmentalists, but builders say nutrient neutrality laws are exacerbating housing crisisMichael Gove is planning to rip up water pollution rules that builders have blamed for exacerbating England's housing crisis but which environmental groups say are essential for protecting the country's rivers.The housing secretary, alongside Therese Coffey, the environment secretary, will announce the move on Tuesday, according to several people briefed on the plans, alongside hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of extra funding to mitigate the potential impact on England's waterways. Continue reading...

Fast charging stations that allow for longer journeys are being added in regions beyond LondonCharging companies are plugging the gaps in the UK's high-speed charger network, with hundreds added this year outside London in a shift that will help end the range anxiety" that holds back some would-be electric car buyers.The capital and the south-east still have far more chargers of all speeds - ranging from slow to rapid and ultra-rapid - than the rest of the country. But the presence of high-speed chargers, generally used for quick recharging on longer journeys, is increasing in other regions as electric car sales surge. Continue reading...

Heatwaves, wildfires and floods are just the tip of the iceberg', leading climate scientists say

Conservationists say Forestry Corporation of NSW logging operation is smashing into the middle' of forest home to the greater glider

Comprehensive analysis calls into question whether such resorts have a future as global heating intensifiesA quarter of European ski resorts will have scarce snow every other year with 2C of global heating, a comprehensive analysis has found. It calls into question whether such resorts have a future as the climate crisis intensifies.The study took into account artificial snowmaking, without which half the resorts would have scarce snow every other year at 2C. Current action and policies mean the world is on track for 2.7C of global heating. Continue reading...

The recent heatwaves in Arizona, stoked by the climate crisis, have led to a spike in contact burns from asphalt almost as hot as boiling waterOn a sunny day in mid-May, Bobby Hunt fell asleep by the side of a gas station in Phoenix. Hunt says he was waiting for a friend to pick him up.Next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital." Continue reading...

Protesters say classification as domestic terrorists' for opposing planned Georgia police facility has upended their livesBefore boarding a flight from San Francisco to New York last month, Luke Lucky" Harper was pulled aside and subjected to a search of his body and his belongings in front of other passengers waiting to board.The experience would have been even more upsetting if it wasn't the third time in several weeks. Harper was also searched in airports in Nashville, Tennessee and Salt Lake City, Utah. His name was called out on a loudspeaker; officials swabbed his hands, seeking traces of explosives. Continue reading...

The Committee on the Rights of the Child urges governments to respond to young people's concerns about environmental threatsGovernments must respond to growing concerns expressed by children about the effects of the climate crisis and other environmental emergencies on their lives and futures, a UN body has said.In a strongly worded formal opinion published on Monday, the Committee on the Rights of the Child concludes that the triple planetary crisis - the climate emergency, the collapse of biodiversity and pervasive pollution - is an urgent and systemic threat to children's rights globally". Continue reading...

Shadow foreign secretary says Starmer government would work with President Lula on radical climate actionThe shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, has taken his green diplomatic policy for a test spin in Brazil this month in the hope that climate justice" can serve as an international rallying cry for a future Labour government.In an interview with the Guardian, Lammy said a Labour victory at the next general election would allow Keir Starmer to build a partnership for radical climate action with Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, before the UN's Cop30 climate summit in Belem in 2025. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak's lack of support for expanded scheme risks stunting Londoners' lungs, says mayor in run-up to Tuesday's launch

Petrol retailer announces partnership with OneH2 to expand use of the alternative fuel, and expects early adoption by heavier vehicle fleets

Large flightless birds, thought to be extinct for 100 years, have been returned to the wilderness of the Greenstone Valley in New Zealand's South Island

London mayor bemoans lack of ministerial support for pollution charging policyThe government is weaponising air pollution and climate change" by not supporting the expansion of the capital's ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has claimedAhead of Tuesday's rollout of the expansion of Ulez to all London boroughs, Khan expressed his disappointment" at the lack of government financial support for the policy, and its accompanying scrappage scheme, unlike those run in some other cities in England. Continue reading...

Drivers want to park on Moor Lane and Bridge Road, a charge-free corridor in ChessingtonResidents of a road that will form a charge-free corridor through London's expanded ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) say they have been offered 100 a month" to let people park on their driveways and avoid paying the fee.Motorists travelling along Moor Lane, which becomes Bridge Road, in Chessington, south-west London, do not have to pay the Ulez charge, but should they turn off at any stage they will immediately enter the zone. Continue reading...

Land privatization and water depletion set the stage for the Lahaina fire 150 years ago. Now, land companies may benefit even moreIn the late 18th century, when the Hawaiian Kingdom became a sovereign state, Lahaina carried such an abundance of water that early explorers reportedly anointed it Venice of the Pacific". A glut of natural wetlands nourished breadfruit trees, extensive taro terraces and fishponds that sustained wildlife and generations of Native Hawaiian families.But more than a century and a half of plantation agriculture, driven by American and European colonists, have depleted Lahaina's streams and turned biodiverse food forests into tinderboxes. Today, Hawaii spends $3bn a year importing up to 90% of its food. This altered ecology, experts say, gave rise to the 8 August blaze that decimated the historic west Maui town and killed more than 111 people. Continue reading...

The environment Inuit have lived in for millennia is changing fast. Canada's government once ignored Indigenous knowledge of it but now they are jointly creating the Nunatsiavut conservation area Photographs by Eldred AllenA plume of red erupts in the grey-blue waters and Martin Shiwak accelerates his boat to grab the seal he has shot before the animal sinks out of sight. Shiwak has hunted for years in the waters of Lake Melville, by the Inuit community of Rigolet in Nunatsiavut.As he hauls the ringed seal into the vessel, he says he counts himself lucky to have found one so quickly. Sometimes you have to drive around here in the boat nearly all day to find a seal," Shiwak says. Nowadays you can't even afford to - $60 only gets you five gallons of gas."Martin Shiwak with his hunting rifle in his boat, on Lake Melville, near Rigolet in Nunatsiavut Continue reading...