Environment news

• Polluting UK coal plants export power to France as cold weather bites

  18-11-2017 09:39 via theguardian.com
  UK’s last eight coal stations are working to exploit falling temperatures and absence of offline reactors in France to export power across the ChannelPolluting coal power stations in Britain have been profiting from the woes of the low-carbon French nuclear industry this month, according to analysis of energy generation data for the Guardian.Tricastin, one of France’s biggest nuclear power stations, was closed by the French regulator in September so that works could be undertaken to
  
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• Twenty-nine pilot whales dead after mass stranding on WA beach

  25-04-2024 10:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Up to 160 whales have beached themselves at Toby Inlet near Dunsborough, more than 250km south of PerthFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAuthorities are rushing to save more than 150 whales from a mass stranding at a beach in Western Australia’s south-west. Four pods have spread across roughly 500 metres at Toby Inlet near Dunsborough and 29 of these have died, Parks and Wildlife Service Western Au
  
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• 160 pilot whales stranded and 26 confirmed dead in Western Australia – video

  25-04-2024 07:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Authorities are rushing to save more than 150 whales from a mass stranding at a beach in Western Australia’s south-west. Four pods have spread across roughly 500 metres at Toby Inlet near Dunsborough and 26 of these have died, Parks and Wildlife Service Western Australia confirmed. Wildlife officers, marine scientists and veterinarians are on site assessing the conditions of the whales that have become stranded► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTubeMass pilot whale stranding on
  
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• Repeated periods of heat and drought causing some trees to die – study

  25-04-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers in the Netherlands find climate change is increasing vulnerability of some speciesClimate change is causing apparently healthy trees to die after periods of heat and drought. Many may not die immediately but repeated periods of hot weather seem to increase the vulnerability of some species more than others.Researchers studied 20 species of conifers planted 100 years ago in the same place in the Netherlands, taking tree ring samples to see how they did in droughts between 1970 and 201
  
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• Nature destruction will cause bigger economic slump in UK than 2008 crisis, experts warn

  25-04-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Green Finance Institute report said further pollution could cut 12% off GDP by 2030sThe destruction of nature over the rest of the decade could trigger a bigger economic slump in Britain than those caused by the 2008 global financial crisis and the Covid pandemic, experts have warned.Sounding the alarm over the rising financial cost from pollution, damage to water systems, soil erosion, and threats from disease, the report by the Green Finance Institute warned that further breakdown in the UK&rs
  
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• Ministers of Germany, Brazil, South Africa and Spain: why we need a global tax on billionaires

  25-04-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Finance chiefs say higher taxes for the super-rich are key to battling global inequality and climate crisisBillionaires should pay minimum 2% wealth tax, say G20 ministersWhen the governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund convened for the spring meetings last week, it was all about the really big questions. What can the international community do to accelerate decarbonisation and fight climate change? How can highly indebted countries retain fiscal space to invest in povert
  
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• Country diary: The dandelions should be crowded; instead, a solitary bee | Paul Evans

  25-04-2024 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The Marches, Shropshire: These glorious so-called weeds are everywhere at the moment, undimmed by the lack of attentionDandelion days. There is such wild energy in the air, the weather blows from hail, through showers, to bright sunshine, and dandelions pop up everywhere. There’s old “piss-a-bed” with its fang-root biting into an abandoned cemetery memorial: the white marble one with pillars, wreaths and adoring wives.Anywhere dandelions grow they are local; antisocia
  
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• Mosquito-borne diseases spreading in Europe due to climate crisis, says expert

  25-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Illnesses such as dengue and malaria to reach unaffected parts of northern Europe, America, Asia and Australia, conference to hearMosquito-borne diseases are spreading across the globe, and particularly in Europe, due to climate breakdown, an expert has said.The insects spread illnesses such as malaria and dengue fever, the prevalences of which have hugely increased over the past 80 years as global heating has given them the warmer, more humid conditions they thrive in. Continue reading...
  
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• Twenty-six pilot whales dead after mass stranding on WA beach

  25-04-2024 05:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Up to 160 whales have beached themselves at Toby Inlet near Dunsborough, more than 250km south of PerthFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAuthorities are rushing to save more than 150 whales from a mass stranding at a beach in Western Australia’s south-west. Four pods have spread across roughly 500 metres at Toby Inlet near Dunsborough and 26 of these have died, Parks and Wildlife Service Western Au
  
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• Survey finds that 60 firms are responsible for half of world’s plastic pollution

  24-04-2024 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Study confirms Philip Morris International, Danone, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are worst offendersFewer than 60 multinationals are responsible for more than half of the world’s plastic pollution, with five responsible for a quarter of that, based on the findings of a piece of research published on Wednesday.The researchers concluded that for every percentage increase in plastic produced, there was an equivalent increase in plastic pollution in the environment. Continue reading...
  
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• Tory duty on Ofwat protects profits over reducing sewage pollution, experts say

  24-04-2024 18:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners fear growth duty will hamper water regulator’s ability to crack down on companies in poor financial stateThe Conservatives have pushed through a duty on the water regulator to prioritise growth, which experts have said will incentivise water companies to value their bottom lines over reducing sewage pollution.Campaigners fear this move will weaken Ofwat’s ability to crack down on water companies as it may force the regulator to consider a company’s financial situati
  
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• How divestment became a ‘clarion call’ in anti-fossil fuel and pro-ceasefire protests

  24-04-2024 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The divestment movement has a long history among US student activists, including in the overlapping movements of todayCameron Jones first learned about fossil fuel divestment as a 15-year-old climate organizer. When he enrolled at Columbia University in 2022, he joined the campus’s chapter of the youth-led climate justice group the Sunrise Movement and began pushing the school in New York to sever financial ties with coal, oil and gas companies.“The time for institutions like Columbi
  
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• Doctors condemn suspension of retired GP over UK climate protests

  24-04-2024 15:16 via theguardian.com
  
  British Medical Association says decision to take Dr Sarah Benn off medical register for five months ‘sends worrying message’Doctors groups are calling for urgent consideration of the rules for medical professionals who take peaceful direct action on the climate crisis, which they say is the “greatest threat to global health”, after a GP was suspended from the register for non-violent protest.Dr Sarah Benn, a GP from Birmingham, was taken off the medical register for five
  
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• UK ‘helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine’ via loophole on refined oil imports

  24-04-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  £2.2bn-worth of oil processed in China, India and Turkey – to whom Russia supplies crude – was imported in 2023, data showsThe UK has been accused of “helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine” by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Kremlin fossil fuels.Government data analysed by the environmental news site Desmog shows that imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, the same record
  
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• Birdsong once signalled the onset of spring on my street – but not this year | Tony Juniper

  24-04-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A dawn chorus of flutes, whistles and chirps once flowed through my Cambridge window, but there has been a shocking collapse in birdlife. What can be done?Every year from February through to June, the early morning chorus of birdsong is one of the most evocative manifestations of spring. During late winter I open the bedroom window before going to sleep, to hear that incredible mix of flutes, whistles and chirps that begin before first light, when I wake. I listen for the layers of song that sim
  
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• Estuaries, the ‘nurseries of the sea’, are disappearing fast

  24-04-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Study reveals repurposing of ecologically vital land for homes or agriculture is happening particularly rapidly in AsiaEstuaries – the place where a river meets the ocean – are often called the “nurseries of the sea”. They are home to many of the fish we eat and support vast numbers of birds, while the surrounding salt marsh helps to stabilise shorelines and absorb floods.However, a new study shows that nearly half of the world’s estuaries have been altered by human
  
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• Country diary: Standing in the shadow of a giant | Sean Wood

  24-04-2024 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Dumfries, Scotland: It’s strange to think sequoias are more numerous here than in their homeland California. This one, down the road from me, is captivating companyAs a young boy, my copy of Strange But True contained fascinating photographs of a coach and horses and a Model T Ford driving through a hole in an enormous sequoia. Recently, these monsters have been in the news due to the number of sequoias, or giant redwoods, in the UK – about 500,000 here, compared with only about 80,0
  
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• Plant apocalypse: how new diseases are destroying EU trees and crops

  24-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From ancient olive groves to root vegetables, foreign pests introduced via the bloc’s open import system are causing damage worth billions – and outbreaks are on the riseThe plants slowly choke to death, wither and dry out. They die en masse, leaves dropping and bark turning grey, creating a sea of monochrome. Since scientists first discovered Xylella fastidiosa in 2013 in Puglia, Italy, it has killed a third of the region’s 60 million olive trees – which once produced al
  
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• The Guardian view on the Sahel and its crises: the west can still make a difference | Editorial

  23-04-2024 19:53 via theguardian.com
  
  The region is turning towards Russia and other global players when it comes to security. Tackling the climate crisis would contribute to a solutionTwo apparently separate developments in the Sahel are linked by more than geography. Last week, the US confirmed that it will withdraw more than 1,000 troops from Niger after the military junta revoked a security pact – just six years after a new $110m military base opened. Meanwhile, a record heatwave is the latest deadly extreme weather event.
  
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• ‘We all connected over Flaco’: artists turn beloved animals into symbols of their US cities

  23-04-2024 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The biggest cities in the US are mourning animals who fostered a rare sense of connection. Art is preserving their legaciesWorking near Central Park, one New Yorker regularly witnessed one of its most beloved residents: Flaco the owl, who became a celebrity after escaping the nearby zoo. The woman took the bird’s message to heart, re-evaluated her life and decided to quit her job. Now, she’s one of dozens with a Flaco tattoo.“They’ll be walking around the rest of their li
  
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• ‘Long live the king’: the artists and tattooists turning Flaco and P-22 into city icons

  23-04-2024 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The biggest cities in the US are mourning animals who fostered a rare sense of connection. Art is preserving their legaciesWorking near Central Park, one New Yorker regularly witnessed one of its most beloved residents: Flaco the owl, who became a celebrity after escaping the nearby zoo. The woman took the bird’s message to heart, re-evaluated her life and decided to quit her job. Now, she’s one of dozens with a Flaco tattoo.“They’ll be walking around the rest of their li
  
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• Dutton’s plan to save Australia with nuclear comes undone when you look between the brushstrokes | Temperature Check

  23-04-2024 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The dystopian picture of renewables painted by the opposition leader is full of inconsistencies, partial truths and misinformationGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe Coalition leader, Peter Dutton, has been trying to paint a picture of what life in Australia will be like if it tries to power itself mostly with renewable energy and without his technology of choice: nuclear.Towering turbines offshore will hurt whales, dolphins and the fishing industry, fact
  
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• Retired UK GP suspended for five months after climate protests

  23-04-2024 16:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Sarah Benn is first of three GPs facing disciplinary tribunals this year over climate activismA doctor who went to jail after a series of climate protests has been taken off the medical register for five months – and still faces being permanently struck off.The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) – the disciplinary arm of the General Medical Council (GMC) – suspended Dr Sarah Benn on Tuesday, having found last week that her fitness to practise as a doctor had been imp
  
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• Boy, 9, from Derbyshire, wins gull screeching competition

  23-04-2024 13:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Cooper Wallace wore a costume and lunged at some chips in his act at the impersonation contest in BelgiumA nine-year-old boy from Derbyshire has screeched his way to victory at the European championships of a gull impersonation competition.Cooper Wallace, a gull enthusiast from Chesterfield, competed in the fourth European gull screeching championship in Belgium on Sunday. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘I felt this was an abuse of power’: Trudi Warner’s climate fight with the UK government

  23-04-2024 13:13 via theguardian.com
  
  The activist on her year being pursued by lawyers determined to prosecute her over a placardTwo days before Trudi Warner faced court under threat of a contempt of court prosecution, she fell off her bike and ruptured the tendons in her hand.Now the hand is black and blue, tightly bandaged, and requires surgery. It is an indication that 69-year-old Warner, who spent her working life as a child social worker and has committed her retirement to climate action, is not as tough and unflappable as her
  
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• ‘Currents bring life – and plastics’: animals of Galápagos live amid mounds of waste

  23-04-2024 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As diplomats search for a way to curb the world’s growing problem of plastic, bottles, buoys, nets and packaging are piling up on what should be one of the most pristine environmentsAs our small fishing boat slows to a halt in a shallow bay south-east of Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, in the Galápagos Islands, a green turtle surfaces next to us, followed by a second, then a third a few metres away. A spotted eagle ray glides underneath the vessel.The skipper, Don Nelson, steps on to the
  
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• Voyager-1 sends readable data again from deep space

  23-04-2024 12:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nasa says its most distant probe is once again sending usable information back to Earth.
  
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• World must come together to tackle plastic pollution, says chair of UN talks

  23-04-2024 11:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Ecuadorian ambassador to the UK is hopeful impasse can be overcome at treaty negotiations in OttawaAs UN talks begin today to agree the first global treaty to reduce soaring plastic waste, the chair of the meetings has said he is confident countries will come together to secure an agreement.Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the Ecuadorian ambassador to the UK, admitted it would be a challenge to overcome an impasse that has emerged between countries which produce plastic and others that have ambitions to t
  
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• Sunak’s weakening of climate targets ‘retrograde’, says former Tory minister

  23-04-2024 11:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Claire O’Neill, a former climate minister, says PM’s move was to ‘try and create political division and dividing lines’The UK government’s decision to weaken some of its climate commitments was a “retrograde step” that will set back vital cross-party action to cut carbon emissions, Claire O’Neill, a former Conservative climate minister, has said.O’Neill, who was known as Claire Perry when she served as a minister under David Cameron and There
  
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• ‘The trout lasagne is very good!’ How I recreated six classic beef dishes – with oily fish

  23-04-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Replacing red meat with fish could prevent diabetes, reduce our carbon footprint and save lives. So who’s for spaghetti and fishballs?“What’s for supper?” my wife asks. We are watching the six o’clock news and the pause I leave before answering is longer than I mean it to be. I’m trying to find the words.“Fish wellington,” I say, finally. The silence that follows is longer still. Continue reading...
  
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