Environment | The Guardian

Climate Superfund Act compels oil companies to pay potentially billions of dollars for climate impacts caused by their emissionsVermont has become the first state to enact a law holding oil firms financially responsible for climate damages, after the Republican governor, Phil Scott, allowed it to pass without his signature late on Thursday.Modeled after the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program, the Climate Superfund Act directs the state to charge major fossil fuel companies potentially billions of dollars to pay for climate impacts to which their emissions have contributed. It is expected to face legal challenges from the industry. Continue reading...

Western Texas briefly looked like a winter wonderland' amid dramatic temperature drop and hailstormJust as people start bringing out their shorts for the start of summer, one Texas town had to reach for something rarely seen in late May: a snowplough.Parts of the state saw a dramatic 50F temperature drop on Wednesday thanks to a giant dump of hail, some DVD-sized". The storm made western Texas look, briefly, like a winter wonderland. Continue reading...

Labour leader says it was most efficient form of transport' from Wales and party has offset the carbonKeir Starmer has admitted he used a private jet to travel to a campaign rally in Scotland where he promised to create tens of thousands" of clean energy jobs with a new publicly owned energy company in the country.Responding to media questions after speaking to activists in Greenock, Inverclyde, Starmer said: We did use a private jet because we did need to get very quickly to Scotland from Wales yesterday and it was the most efficient form of transport in the middle of a very busy general election campaign." Continue reading...

Rules target contaminants such as mercury, benzene and lead released by coke ovens used by facilities to burn coalNew Environmental Protection Agency rules aim to crack down on toxic air pollution from US steelmakers by limiting pollutants such as mercury, benzene and lead that have long poisoned the air in neighborhoods surrounding the plants.The rules target contaminants released by steel facilities' coke ovens. Gas from the ovens creates an individual cancer risk in the air around steel plants of 50 in 1,000,000, which public health advocates say is dangerous for children and people with underlying health problems. Continue reading...

Zoo welcomes 11 Humboldt chicks, its highest number in a decade, including Thistle and DaffodilIn previous years Chester zoo's new penguin chicks have been named after crisps - Frazzle, Wotsit - and local football club owners - Ryan, Rob - but the names p ... p ... p ... picked this year are notably less frivolous.We've decided to go with plants," said Zoe Sweetman, the penguins and parrots team manager at the zoo. Two of the spikier new arrivals have been named Nettle and Thistle while two others with colourful personalities" have been named Daffodil and Tulip. Continue reading...

EPA says proposal to keep Hunter Valley Operations mines going to 2050 would release almost 30m tonnes of CO2

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

Negative scientific and press reports on the efficacy of carbon credit projects has led to a direct pullback in buyer investment'The market for carbon offsets shrank dramatically last year, falling from $1.9bn (1.5bn) in 2022 to $723m in 2023, a new report has found. The drop came after a series of scientific and media reports found many offsetting schemes do nothing to mitigate the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.The research by Ecosystem Marketplace, a nonprofit initiative that collects data about the carbon market from brokers and traders, found the market had shrunk 61%. Continue reading...

Campaigners suspect block on new applications for at least two years was imposed to limit burden on water firmsThe government has suspended all applications for bathing water status in waterways, delaying the cleanup of rivers and coastal waters for at least two years.River campaigners fear the block on new applications to create bathing water areas, which are regularly tested for water quality, has been introduced to stop water companies facing huge resource implications to tackle poor water quality in new bathing areas. Continue reading...

For many on Ghoramara, the general election is about the climate crisis and survival. The island, 150km south of Kolkata and named the sinking island' by the media, has lost nearly half its area to soil erosion in the past two decades and could disappear if a solution is not found.As voters across India cast their ballots on issues ranging from the cost of living to jobs and religion, politicians trying to win votes in Ghoramara need to put the climate crisis to the fore as the island's dwindling population fight to save their homes from the sea amid rising water levels and increasingly fierce storms Continue reading...

Meeting WHO guidelines would avoid many cases of diseases and save the NHS millions, research showsA study has revealed that cleaning up the air in the West Midlands could prevent the early deaths of about 2,000 people a year.If the region were to meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for air pollution, it could also avoid 2,000 new asthma cases, 770 new cases of heart disease, 170 new lung cancers and 650 strokes annually, the study found. Continue reading...

Festival bows to pressure from authors and activists over investment firm's links to Israel and fossil fuel companiesThe Edinburgh international book festival (EIBF) has announced the end of its 20-year partnership with Baillie Gifford. Last week the Hay literary festival also dropped its sponsorship from the investment management firm after a series of last-minute drop-outs.The singer Charlotte Church, the comedian Nish Kumar and the politician Dawn Butler were among those due to appear at Hay who decided to boycott the festival because of Baillie Gifford's links to Israel and fossil fuel companies. By the end of the festival's second day, Hay's organisers announced the sponsorship has been suspended" for 2024. Continue reading...

Researchers say world has enough fossil fuel projects planned to meet demand forecasts to 2050 if net zero is reachedThe world has enough fossil fuel projects planned to meet global energy demand forecasts to 2050 and governments should stop issuing new oil, gas and coal licences, according to a large study aimed at political leaders.If governments deliver the changes promised in order to keep the world from breaching its climate targets no new fossil fuel projects will be needed, researchers at University College London and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) said on Thursday. Continue reading...

Temperatures of more than 45C have left population of 29 million exhausted - but the poorest suffer mostAs the water tanker drove into a crowded Delhi neighbourhood, a ruckus erupted. Dozens of residents ran frantically behind it, brandishing buckets, bottles and hoses, and jumped on top of it to get even a drip of what was stored inside. Temperatures that day had soared to 49C (120F), the hottest day on record - and in many places across India's vast capital, home to more than 29 million people, water had run out.Every morning, Tripti, a social health worker who lives in the impoverished enclave of Vivekanand Camp, is among those who has to stand under the blazing sun with buckets and pots, waiting desperately for the water tanker to arrive. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Documents reveal offer was made three years before Origin and government reached deal to keep Australia's biggest coal-fired power station open

FTSE 100 firm DS Smith, which works with firms over alternatives, urges next government to match global standardsWhoever wins the UK general election must tighten regulations to reduce the use of plastic packaging, match global standards and drive green consumption", the boss of one of the sector's biggest manufacturers has urged.Miles Roberts, the chief executive of the packaging firm DS Smith, made the call to the next government as the company celebrated passing its target to replace more than 1bn pieces of plastic 16 months early. Continue reading...

The bipartisan proposal that would remediate farms affected by toxic PFAS contamination is gaining speed in CongressThe US may soon bail out farmers whose livelihoods were destroyed by toxic PFAS forever chemical" contamination.The proposal for a $500m fund aims to head off a crisis for the nation's growers and is moving through Congress amid increasing evidence that PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge used as a cheap fertilizer alternative poisoned crops and livestock. Separately, around 4,000 farms nationwide have been contaminated by PFAS from neighboring military bases. Continue reading...

The golden state legalised marijuana production in 2016, but strict curbs have led to a thriving black market. Its hub is in Siskiyou county, where the environmental damage is clear to seeIn the shadow of Mount Shasta in northern California, a sea of makeshift greenhouses and plywood huts sprawls between the conifer trees of the high desert. From the air, many of the polytunnels look in bad shape, their plastic covers torn by the wind to reveal what's inside: hundreds of cannabis plants packet tightly together, their distinctive green leaves easily identifiable against the volcanic soil.This remote area of Siskiyou county is known for its goldrush history, black bears and returning grey wolves, but in the last few years it has also become a hub for California's parallel market in cannabis production. More than 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of illicit cannabis farms cover the Republic-leaning county, which voted not to legalise commercial farming despite the statewide vote for legalisation in November 2016. Continue reading...

Analysis of the carbon offset projects used by top corporations including Delta, Gucci and ExxonMobil raises concerns around their emission cuts claimsSome of the world's most profitable - and most polluting corporations - have invested in carbon offset projects that have fundamental failings and are probably junk", suggesting industry claims about greenhouse gas reductions were likely overblown, according to new analysis.Delta, Gucci, Volkswagen, ExxonMobil, Disney, easyJet and Nestle are among the major corporations to have purchased millions of carbon credits from climate friendly projects that are likely junk" or worthless when it comes to offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions, according to a classification system developed by Corporate Accountability, a non-profit, transnational corporate watchdog. Continue reading...

Premier Steven Miles says laws prohibiting greenhouse gas storage in the basin will benefit farmers and the environment

Broadscale treatment under way after nests found at Nirimba in Queensland's south-east

From crab monitoring and bear patrols to rescue operations, the watchmen are the official eyes and ears of indigenous communitiesIt's Delaney Mack's first time pulling crab traps and she is unsure what to do. Mack, the newest member of the Nuxalk Guardian Watchmen, has had months of training for the multifaceted job, which might on any given day include rescuing a kayaker, taking ocean samples or monitoring a logging operation. But winching crabs up 100ft from the sea floor was not in the manual.Soon, however, the four-person operation is humming along. The crab survey is a vital part of their work as guardians of this Indigenous territory in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was started more than 15 years ago in response to heavy commercial crab fishing in an area where the federal government had done little independent monitoring to determine if a fishery was sustainable. Continue reading...

Government of Christopher Luxon has made sweeping cuts to climate projects in its first budget, with no new significant environmental investmentsThe New Zealand government has been accused of waging a war on nature" after it announced sweeping cuts to climate action projects, while making no significant new investments in environmental protection or climate crisis-related policy.In its 2024/25 budget, handed down on Thursday, the rightwing coalition announced spending on law and order, education, health and a series of tax cuts, as the country struggles with inflation and cost-of-living pressures.Mori knowledge-based approaches to agricultural emissions reductionCommunity-based renewable energy schemesThe Climate Change CommissionExternal and internal specialists who supply evidence and data on environmental monitoring and scienceFreshwater policy initiativesNative forest plantingDevelopment of a circular economy, relating to recycling and reuseJobs for Nature, a programme creating jobs to benefit the environmentReducing biosecurity monitoring Continue reading...

Research that looked at 53 million births says Black and Hispanic mothers and those in lower socioeconomic groups most at riskHeatwaves increase rates of preterm births, which can lead to poorer health outcomes for babies and impact their long-term health, a new study found.Black and Hispanic mothers, as well as those in lower socioeconomic groups, are particularly at risk of delivering early following heat waves. Continue reading...

It's not just pommes frites. Beef bourguignon, avocado and foie gras will also be unavailableName: french fries.Age: invented about 300 years ago, ironically in Belgium. Continue reading...

New study published in Cell Reports Sustainability finds emission reductions provided $249bn of climate and health benefits

Exclusive: Five facilities named in documents tabled in NSW parliament defend practices, as independent experts question whether testing system is failing consumers

Global industry in crisis' as fears about Brazilian harvest help push wholesale prices to record highsOrange juice makers are considering turning to alternative fruits such as mandarins as wholesale prices have gone bananas" amid fears of poor harvests in Brazil.Prices of orange juice reached a new high of $4.95 (3.88) a lb on commodity markets this week after growers in the main orange producing areas of Brazil said they were expecting the harvest to be 24% down on last year at 232m 40.8kg boxes - worse than the 15% fall previously predicted. Continue reading...

Hundreds of Indian farmers who have been camping for more than 100 days between the Punjab and Haryana states to demand better prices for their crops have been enduring a savage heatwave sweeping swathes of northern India.Temperatures in Delhi, not far from the protest, have hit a record high of 49.9C (121.8F), as authorities warned of water shortages in the capital

Regulator understood to be looking at recovery regime' for Thames Water and others in sector

Los Angeles has long owned large swathes of the Owens valley. An investigation reveals how the city has tightened its gripThis article is reported by AfroLA and co-published by AfroLA, Guardian US and Inyo County's The Sheet. It's the first of several stories examining the impact of Los Angeles's extensive landownership in the Owens Valley.A red horse statue perched on a 12ft pole greets drivers coming to the town of Bishop from the south. It's one of the first landmarks here, part of Mike Allen's corrugated metal feed store - a local institution that sells camping gear, livestock feed and moving equipment in this expansive region of inland California. Continue reading...

Officials are now incentivizing testing, but experts say workers need protective equipment and paid sick leave to prevent further spreadOn a US dairy farm, working in the milking parlor can mean seven-day weeks, 12-hour shifts and intimate contact with cows and everything they expel.When you disconnect the machine from the udder, it can shoot milk in your face," said Jose Martinez, a former dairy worker and United Farm Workers advocate based in Washington state. And there's no time or place to eat. So we ate our tacos in spare moments with cow shit on our hands." Continue reading...

Study confirms huge concentrations of potentially dangerous PFAS in rivers, lakes and taps in DhakaRivers, lakes and tap water in areas of Bangladesh that host garment factories are swarming with dangerous levels of toxic forever chemicals", some with links to serious health issues, according to new research.In the first study of its kind conducted in Bangladesh, a global fashion hub supplying international brands, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as forever chemicals, were found in 27 water samples collected close to textile factories in the capital, Dhaka. Continue reading...

IPPR research examines transport emissions by income, gender, location, ethnicity and ageWealthy white men from rural areas are the UK's biggest emitters of climate-heating gases from transport, according to a study.Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) looked at transport emissions by income, gender, location, ethnicity and age. The study broke down the transport emissions into international and domestic flights, private road transport and public transport. Continue reading...

Widening government-run scheme would counter mistrust among householders, says consumer groupThe next government should force all tradespeople who install home heat pumps, solar panels and insulation to sign up to a mandatory accreditation scheme to counter mistrust in the industry, a leading consumer group is demanding.A report from Which? found that households face significant anxiety" in choosing tradespeople to fit low-carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps, and insulation after press stories about poor work and rogue traders". Continue reading...

The Coalition has attacked the GenCost report that found nuclear power plants would be at least 50% more expensive than solar and wind

US agency found PFOS and other types of PFAS in pesticides but failed to disclose those results, watchdog group allegesDocuments obtained from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicate the agency may have presented false information to the public about testing for harmful contaminants in pesticides, according to allegations being made by a watchdog group and a former EPA research fellow.The claims come almost a year to the day after the EPA issued a May 2023 press release that stated the agency found no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in testing of samples of certain insecticide products. The press release contradicted a published study by the former EPA researcher that had reported finding PFAS in the same pesticide products.This story is co-published with the New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group Continue reading...

And almost half of respondents back the filing of criminal charges against oil companies that have contributed to the climate crisisAs US communities take big oil to court for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate crisis, polling shared with the Guardian shows that a majority of voters support the litigation, while almost half would back an even more aggressive legal strategy of filing criminal charges.The poll, which comes as the world's first-ever criminal climate lawsuit was brought in France last week, could shed light on how, if filed, similar US cases might be viewed by a jury. Continue reading...

Labour and Liberal Democrats dominated list of MPs who were rated as very good in backing environmental policiesNo elected Tory MPs have been rated as voting positively on climate issues, under a survey of parliamentary voting patterns since the Conservatives took power in 2010.Only a single sitting Conservative was rated as good" on climate votes in the ranking, but that was Lisa Cameron, the MP for East Kilbride, who defected from the Scottish National Party in October. Continue reading...

Collins Nzovu says country's plight is foretaste of disasters that will increasingly afflict region as climate breakdown takes holdSevere drought in Zambia is threatening hunger for millions of people, cutting off electricity for long periods and destroying the country's social fabric and economy, the environment minister has warned, in a harbinger of what is in store for the region as the climate crisis worsens.Collins Nzovu said the crippling drought" his country was experiencing hammered home the message that developing countries were facing catastrophe from the climate crisis, even as richer countries failed to muster financial help for the most afflicted. Continue reading...

Campaigners urge Australians not to buy Tasmanian farmed salmon to avoid extinction event' for Maugean skate

Scalloped hammerhead and greeneye spurdog among at-risk shark discovered in genetic testing of fillets

Exclusive: Facilities owned by Bingo Industries and Aussie Skips Recycling among more than 20 named in NSW parliament for breaching regulations

The Coalition has no climate policy. But Labor's positions are undermined by its confused stance on gas and the delay of new environmental laws

Recommendations include heat forecasts and outdoor-worker safeguards to prevent thousands of deaths and injuriesMillions of Americans face the threat of dangerous heatwaves in the coming weeks with another summer of record-breaking temperatures forecast to hit the US.Most of New Mexico and Utah - alongside parts of Arizona, Texas and Colorado - have the highest chance (60% to 70%) of seeing hotter-than-average summer temperatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). In addition, the entire north-east - from Maine down to Pennsylvania and New Jersey - as well as a large stretch from Louisiana to Arizona, Washington and Idaho, have a 40% to 50% chance of experiencing above-average temperatures from June through August. Continue reading...

Studies find red, blue and green plastic decomposes into microplastic particles faster than plainer coloursRetailers are being urged to stop making everyday products such as drinks bottles, outdoor furniture and toys out of brightly coloured plastic after researchers found it degrades into microplastics faster than plainer colours.Red, blue and green plastic became very brittle and fragmented", while black, white and silver samples were largely unaffected" over a three-year period, according to the findings of the University of Leicester-led project. Continue reading...

Female pair are third litter born at Blair Drummond under endangered species breeding programmeA Scottish safari park has announced the birth of two female lemur pups native to Madagascar.Nova and Evie, who are living at Blair Drummond safari and adventure park, near Stirling, were born on 14 April, and the park has now publicly announced their birth. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Independent testing of recycled soil fill finds two of four samples would not meet legislated thresholds and one contained asbestos

Warnings of possible flooding, travel delays and power cuts as Met Office issues yellow warningMore than an inch of rain could fall in one hour as thunderstorms lash parts of England and Wales, forecasters have warned.Slow-moving showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop on Sunday afternoon, with 20-30mm of rain predicted. There may also be hail and lightning strikes, with people warned to expect possible flooding, travel delays and power cuts. Continue reading...

Sydney Water says data shows men aged between 18 and 29 are biggest culprits when it comes to flushing rubbish down the toilet