Ruling, specific to three dicamba-based weedkillers, is major blow to Bayer, BASF and SyngentaDealing a blow to three of the world's biggest agrochemical companies, a US court this week banned three weedkillers widely used in American agriculture, finding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke the law in allowing them to be on the market.The ruling is specific to three dicamba-based weedkillers manufactured by Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, which have been blamed for millions of acres of crop damage and harm to endangered species and natural areas across the midwest and south. Continue reading...
Investigators previously found blasts that damaged undersea pipelines in 2022 were an act of sabotageSwedish prosecutors have said they will end their investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in 2022, dodging the question of who destroyed the then new energy link between Russia and Europe shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.After a 16-month inquiry, the investigators concluded they did not have jurisdiction in the case because Sweden's citizens and interests had not been harmed. The conclusion of the investigation is that Swedish jurisdiction does not apply and that the investigation therefore should be closed," the Swedish prosecution authority said on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Harvey Goldsmith's Earth Aid Live set to last 10 years and take place across multiple cities and continents, with lineups still to be announcedHarvey Goldsmith, the concert promoter who backed the London leg of Live Aid as well as numerous other charity events and major gigs, has announced a new multi-year project to benefit action on the climate crisis.Earth Aid Live will take place in six countries across five continents over one weekend in August 2025, including London, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro, with lineups still to be announced. Goldsmith is planning similar events in 2030 and 2035, and will feature concerts in the metaverse as well as real life. Continue reading...
Environmental Protection Agency sets lower limits on fine particle pollution, estimated to cause 85,000 to 225,000 deaths annuallyThe Environmental Protection Agency has finalized long-awaited new limits on soot, the tiny air pollution particles emitted by sources as varied as power plants, factories, car exhaust and wildfires.Today's action is a critical step forward that will better protect workers, families and communities from the dangerous and costly impacts of fine particle pollution," the EPA administrator, Michael Regan, told reporters on Tuesday. Continue reading...
The Biden administration suspended new permits for natural gas terminals. Can we see more of this kind of backbone?Ten days ago Joe Biden did something remarkable, and almost without precedent - he actually said no to big oil.His administration halted the granting of new permits for building liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals, something Washington had been handing out like M&Ms on Halloween for nearly a decade. It's a provisional no" - Department of Energy experts will spend the coming months figuring out a new formula for granting the licenses that takes the latest science and economics into account - but you can tell what a big deal it is because of the howls of rage coming from the petroleum industry and its gaggle of politicians.Bill McKibben is the founder of Third Act, which organizes Americans over 60 for progressive action and which worked this fall to persuade the administration to stop granting the LNG permits Continue reading...
Campaigners argue in legal challenge that loophole has allowed poultry farmers to pollute riveroThe Environment Agency and the UK government failed to protect the River Wye from catastrophic decline by allowing pollution from industrial chicken farming to saturate the land and devastate the protected river, a legal challenge is to argue. Continue reading...
The Danish photographer Soren Solkaer first saw starling murmurations as a child near Wadden Sea in the south of the country. After photographing the phenomenon for three years in the marshlands of Denmark, Solkaer's new work, Starling, published by Edition Circle, expands his scope to trace the birds along their migration routes to the Netherlands and Italy Continue reading...
by Damien Gayle Environment correspondent on (#6JED2)
Huge disconnect' between employers' public ambitions on diversity and their actions, say workersWorkers at environmental charities have said bold words on inclusion are not being matched with action, as research shows the sector still lags far behind others in racial diversity.Only about one in 20 workers in the environmental charity sector identified as an ethnic minority last year, according to a survey of organisations, compared with one in eight in the wider UK workforce. Continue reading...
A huge retrospective of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's work showcases the terrifying, but oddly beautiful marks we can leave on the planet Continue reading...
Frozen snapshot could help revive ancient Exmoor woodland and protect against ravages of climate changeArchaeologists have uncovered a prehistoric woodland time capsule" buried in Exmoor's ancient peatlands. The finding, filled with beetles and plant fragments, gives a time-frozen snapshot of the creatures that lived there - and could help restore the area to the richly boggy, carbon-sequestering, tree-filled landscape it once was.The discovery was made during a peatland restoration project at the Holnicote Estate in England's West Somerset. Continue reading...
Andrew Bowie wrote last year that concerns among his constituents about new pylons were a priority'The UK minister responsible for the building of new pylons has been quietly reshuffled after it emerged he had campaigned against the structures in his own constituency.The energy minister Andrew Bowie had been in charge of energy networks, including building pylons, since he took up his post in February 2023. Continue reading...
Media images of rising waters may seem alarming - but that's pretty much what the channel is supposed to look like in heavy rainWhen newspapers across the world wanted to visualize this week's torrential California storms, they chose the same image: a shot of the brown, choppy waters of the Los Angeles River, seemingly about to fully swallow the trunks of local trees.Photos and video of the river dominated the homepages of the New York Times, the Washington Post and even the Guardian. On Monday, LA River" was trending on X.com (formerly Twitter), with more dramatic videos of rising waters. Continue reading...
A series of sightings suggests the big cats are, against the odds, growing in numbers in New Mexico and Arizona. But Trump's border wall could yet halt their progressThe young, muscular male approached from the east at about 4am. He paused briefly in front of the motion-sensor camera, seemingly posing for the photo. It was overall a moment of euphoria," says Emily Burns, programme director at the Sky Island Alliance conservation group in Arizona, as she walks along a rutted forest service road towards a canyon framed by lichen-covered cliffs.I was equal parts thrilled and shocked that there was a jaguar here." Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani Climate justice reporter on (#6JDSD)
The 11 university students could be imprisoned for a year for protesting against the East Africa Crude Oil PipelineEleven Ugandan climate activists who were allegedly beaten and held arbitrarily in a notorious maximum security prison will appear in court on Wednesday charged with a colonial era anti-dissident offense, as reprisals continue against opponents of an internationally bankrolled oil pipeline.If convicted, the 11 activists, all university students, face up to a year in jail. Four of them - Nicholas Lutabi, Jacob Lubega, Shafik Kalyango and Abdul Aziz Bwete - were allegedly arrested and beaten by police armed with guns, teargas and batons as they marched peacefully towards parliament in the capital city, Kampala, on 15 December. Continue reading...
Emissions fall 3.5% from 2021 but experts say government not doing enough to reach net zeroGreenhouse gas emissions fell slightly in 2022, new government figures reveal, with homes and transport remaining the highest emitting sectors.The emissions for the territorial UK were equivalent to 406.2m tonnes of CO, down 3.5% from 2021 and 50% from 1990. Continue reading...
Allies and advisers have hinted at a more methodical second term: driving forward fossil fuel production, sidelining scientists and overturning rulesThe United States's first major climate legislation dismantled, a crackdown on government scientists, a frenzy of oil and gas drilling, the Paris climate deal not only dead but buried.A blueprint is emerging for a second Donald Trump term that is even more extreme for the environment than his first, according to interviews with multiple Trump allies and advisers. Continue reading...
by Jordyn Beazley now, and Amy Remeikis earlier on (#6JD12)
Former PM Scott Morrison, whose government legislated original stage-three plan, spoke in favour of Coalition backing tax plan. This blog is now closed
by Lois Beckett (now) and Dani Anguiano (earlier) on (#6JCTW)
This blog is now closedCalifornia is grappling with another round of strong storms this week and the dangerous potential for flash flooding, landslides, and furious winds expected to come with them.Much like last year, when record rainfall lashed the state, the storms are attributed to atmospheric rivers (ARs), systems that have long played a role in California's precipitation levels - both for good and for bad. Continue reading...
New York-listed company, once valued at $15bn, failed to launch its debut electric vanThe British electric vehicle maker Arrival has collapsed into administration - putting 170 jobs at risk - just three years after it was valued at more than $15bn.The company, which had two manufacturing sites in Oxfordshire, has appointed consultancy firm EY as administrator, after failing to launch its debut electric van. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6JCPR)
Exclusive: Meeting took place days after BP reported record profits while households were squeezed by high energy billsThe energy and climate minister Graham Stuart asked BP about the incentives required to maximise" extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea, documents released under freedom of information rules have revealed.Stuart's meeting with the corporation's UK boss, Louise Kingham, last year came days after BP had announced a record profit of $28bn (23bn) for 2022, raised its dividend to shareholders, and rowed back on its aim to cut its carbon emissions by 2030. Households were also enduring very high energy bills. BP will report its profits for 2023 on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Industry lobby group says 2m could be reached within two years in rapid shift away from polluting fossil fuelsThe number of pure battery electric cars sold in the UK has passed 1m, a milestone that reflects the rapid shift away from polluting fossil fuels that is crucial to Britain's target to produce net zero carbon emissions.Between 2002 and the end of January buyers registered 1,001,677 of the vehicles in the UK, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the lobby group for the British industry. Continue reading...
Brumby numbers in the alpine area exploded under Coalition's no-cull policy and now aerial shooting is being used to bring numbers back downPark rangers culling brumbies are being harassed and threatened as union leaders call on politicians to take the heat out of the debate over controlling the feral animals.The New South Wales government in October announced the state would return to aerial shooting of brumbies in Kosciuszko national park to control burgeoning numbers.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
First-ever hurricane-force wind warning along coast, with millions of people under flood watches and power out for close to a millionAn enormous atmospheric river-fueled storm unleashed rain and furious winds across California on Sunday, leaving destruction and hazards in its wake.Howling winds tore down power lines and trees, and scattered debris in communities across the state, prompting officials to issue the first-ever hurricane-force wind warning along the coast. By late afternoon, streets in both northern and southern regions of California were left submerged, with far more rain on the way. Continue reading...
The referendum comes as the city aims to reduce emissions by targeting wealthy drivers in large, polluting carsParisians have voted to triple parking costs for sports utility vehicles (SUVs), as the city aims to tackle air pollution and climate breakdown by targeting rich drivers in heavy, large and polluting cars.In a referendum on Sunday, which was closely watched by other capital cities, including London, 54.6% voted in favour of special parking fees for SUVs, according to provisional results. However, the turnout - at about 5.7% of Paris's registered voters - was lower than green campaigners had hoped for. Continue reading...
Parents have feelings about a lack of variety in their kids' lunches - critically, fewer choices may mean fewer kids eatingWhen LaToya Jordan first heard the news, she couldn't believe it. Due to budget cuts, a number of popular school lunch options - chicken dumplings, bean-and-cheese burritos, cookies - would disappear from New York City public schools in February.Jordan, a writer whose two children attend public school in Brooklyn, knew that both of her kids were fans of the burritos and her son loves the cookies, too. She immediately texted her mom-friends with the news. Continue reading...
Penalties drafted as part of clean-heat plan' to hasten takeup of eco-friendly heat pumps replaced by quota systemThe UK government is poised to scrap the so-called boiler tax" after manufacturers hiked the price of new gas boilers to cover the fines they have to pay if new targets to fit eco-friendly heat pumps in homes are missed.The move, which will disappoint environmentalists, comes several months after Rishi Sunak announced a watering-down of the UK's net-zero policies, a climbdown that included pushing back the deadline for banning new petrol and diesel cars. Continue reading...
by Karen McVeigh in Morecambe Bay. Photographs by Tes on (#6JC52)
After 23 migrants died while searching for cockles in 2004, access to the lucrative fishery became more regulated. But local fishers claim the new rules mean their families have been left behindOn the outskirts of the fishing village of Flookburgh, Cumbria, a prohibition notice is stapled to a large metal gate across the entrance to the sands: Beach closed to cockle fishing." It is an offence to remove cockles until April 2024 and any person caught doing so risks a fine of up to 10,000.Michael Wilson jumps out of his white van to unhook the gate and then drives past a handful of shrimping trailers to the edge of Morecambe Bay, the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sands in the country, at 120 sq miles. Continue reading...
Former White House chef Sam Kass hosts a four-course dinner featuring dishes that could drastically change - or disappearThe premise sounded like a rich person's ethically suspect fever dream: a dinner structured around endangered foods, dubbed the last supper".But it wasn't a scene out of The Menu, the movie where detestable foodies seek a once-in-a-lifetime experience steeped in privilege and exploitation. Instead of dining on obscure food on the brink of extinction, the last supper" featured recognizable dishes - salmon, oysters, coffee, wine - that could drastically change or disappear in the coming years as the climate warms and brings more volatile weather. Continue reading...
Despite assurances many living near the site of the train accident do not believe their homes are free of pollutants and feel officials are not listening
Archaeologists find remains of insects that hitchhiked' here nearly 2,000 years agoFrom plumbing to public baths, the Romans left their mark on Britain's health. But it may not have all been positive. Archaeologists working at Vindolanda, a Roman garrison site south of Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, have unearthed fresh evidence that the Romans also brought us ... bedbugs.Dr Andrew Birley, who heads the Vindolanda archaeological team, said: It is incredibly rare to find them in any ancient context." Continue reading...
Sea ice around the north pole is disappearing at an alarming rate. A group of scientists are on a mission to investigate the effects of the climate crisis on the regionIt is summer and the air temperature is just below freezing. Fog has crept in, blurring the outline of Polarstern, the German icebreaker moored to a kilometre-long ice floe at 85 deg N latitude. Next to a hole we have just drilled through 1.4 metres of ice, Morten Iversen, who studies the flow of carbon around the ocean, has attached several plastic containers to a rope secured by ice screws. They will be left hanging in the water under the ice for a day to catch marine snow - clumps of dead algae and zooplankton faeces that sink from the upper ocean to the deep sea.A few metres away, a team of biologists perforate the ice floe with a core drill. They are looking for algae that grow at the bottom of sea ice, which play an important role in the Arctic Ocean food web. Metre-long ice cores are pulled up, packed in plastic sleeves and stacked on a sledge to be processed in the ship's laboratories.Daniel Scholz, an engineer for the Alfred Wegener Institute, lowers an instrument that measures temperature, salinity and nitrate - an important nutrient for algae and phytoplankton - through an ice hole Continue reading...
Decision to abandon key policy decried as economically illiterate' reaction to short-term political pressuresColder, damper, sicker, poorer and less employed: Britons in the near future are likely to be worse off if the next government fails to invest in a cleaner and greener economy, business experts and green campaigners have said.Economic revival requires investment, and the UK's crumbling infrastructure needs renewal. The country faces a choice: decline, as businesses and financial investors go elsewhere to find welcoming governments and the regulations, equipment and skills they seek; or investment in the future. Continue reading...
Court rules not enough evidence provided to prove defendants failed to comply with section 14 order at anti-fossil fuel rallyGreta Thunberg and four others charged with public order offences over a protest in London have been cleared after a judge ruled that they had no case to answer.Thunberg was charged alongside Christofer Kebbon, Joshua James Unwin, Jeff Rice and Peter Barker with failing to comply with a condition imposed under section 14 of the Public Order Act". Continue reading...
Green campaigners hope to win landmark vote, which is being watched closely by other cities such as LondonGreen activists in Paris are making a final push to win a landmark vote tripling parking charges for SUVs in a move aimed at tackling air pollution that is being closely watched by other cities such as London.Paris residents will be asked to vote on Sunday for or against a special parking tariff for heavy, large and polluting SUVs parked by non-residents, as the French capital aims to target rich, out-of-town drivers entering the city in order to tackle climate breakdown and air pollution. Continue reading...
Anger at EDF proposals to flood wildlife-rich farmland as compensation' for killing millions of fish at nuclear siteStanding in a field close to the Somerset coast surrounded by her flock of sheep, Juliet Pankhurst shook her head. It doesn't make any sense," she said. They want to flood this land that has been farmed for generations. We've got great crested newts in the pond over there, water voles in the ditches, hares all over the place. They'll be lost."Her partner, Mark Halliwell, shrugged. But they'll get their way - they always do. No matter what scheme they come up with." Continue reading...
Researchers have conducted an annual survey of the animals' population every year since 1958, except in 2021 due to Covid-19A stretch of unusually warm weather has forced federal officials to temporarily halt researchers' annual count of wolves and moose in remote Isle Royale national park for the first time in more than six decades.Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre island situated in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marias, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The Michigan park is a wildlife biologist's dream - it offers a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose without human influence. Continue reading...