Environment news

• Microplastics found in dolphin breath for first time – study

  16-10-2024 20:00
  
  Research suggests the marine animals are inhaling pollutants when they come up for air, with even rural populations affectedMicroplastics have been found in dolphin breath for the first time, according to a study that suggests the marine mammals are inhaling the potentially harmful contaminants when they come up for air.The US research team, whose preliminary findings are published in the journal, Plos One, are concerned about the potential impact of inhaled plastics on the animals’ lungs.
  
  Read more

• ‘Access to food is not the problem’: new orca study deepens mystery behind endangerment

  16-10-2024 18:29
  True cause of why southern resident killer whales are on brink of extinction becomes murkier as conservationists warn of marine noise and ship trafficLast month, the ailing southern resident killer whales of the Pacific gave researchers a rare moment of hope: a new calf was spotted swimming along her mother. Until that point, only one calf had appeared this year, only to die a few months later.But by mid-October, this new calf, named L128, also appeared to succumb poor health, appearing “l
  
  Read more

• New skin research could help slow signs of ageing

  16-10-2024 17:05 via bbc.com
  
  The research could also be used to produce artificial skin for transplantation and prevent scarring.
  
  Read more

• How the ‘climate voter’ might matter in a down-to-the-wire US election

  16-10-2024 17:00
  
  The devastation wrought by Helene and Milton could shake up priorities and bring the climate crisis more to the foreDespite its enormous implications, the climate crisis has so far mostly been a dormant issue in the US presidential election. Some hope the devastation wrought in quick succession by two major hurricanes will shake up the priorities of American voters before a stark choice between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on polling day.Last month, Hurricane Helene became one of the deadliest
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Could the double hurricanes lead to the ‘climate voter’ affecting the US election?

  16-10-2024 17:00
  The devastation wrought by Helene and Milton could shake up priorities and bring the climate crisis more to the foreDespite its enormous implications, the climate crisis has so far mostly been a dormant issue in the US presidential election. Some hope the devastation wrought in quick succession by two major hurricanes will shake up the priorities of American voters before a stark choice between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on polling day.Last month, Hurricane Helene became one of the deadliest
  
  Read more

• TfL seizes 1,400 vehicles from drivers who ignore London Ulez fines

  16-10-2024 15:11
  Bailiffs working on behalf of TfL recoup £25m in 12 months from people who refuse to pay penalty charge notices• Business live – latest updatesMore than 1,400 vehicles have been seized from drivers who have persistently ignored fines relating to London’s Ulez clean air zone, Transport for London has revealed, with more than £25m being recouped by bailiffs.Bailiffs working on TfL’s behalf seized 1,429 vehicles in the last year from drivers who had repeatedly ign
  
  Read more

• Fungi may get status boost under UK-Chile conservation plan

  16-10-2024 13:30
  Exclusive: proposal to Cop16 could see ‘funga’ get global legal consideration distinct from flora and faunaA new era of mycelial conservation could begin this month when the UK and Chile propose that fungi should be placed alongside animals and plants as a separate realm for environmental protection.Mushrooms, mould, mildew, yeast and lichen would all receive elevated status under the plan, which will be submitted to the UN convention on biological diversity (CBD) during the Cop16 me
  
  Read more

• Fungi could be given same status as flora and fauna under conservation plan

  16-10-2024 13:30
  
  Exclusive: proposal to Cop16 could see ‘funga’ get global legal consideration distinct from flora and faunaA new era of mycelial conservation could begin this month when the UK and Chile propose that fungi should be placed alongside animals and plants as a separate realm for environmental protection.Mushrooms, mould, mildew, yeast and lichen would all receive elevated status under the plan, which will be submitted to the UN convention on biological diversity (CBD) during the Cop16 me
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Lula and Petro have the chance of a lifetime to save the Amazon. Can they unite idealism and realpolitik to pull it off?

  16-10-2024 13:00
  
  The South American leaders are in the spotlight as they prepare to host this week’s Cop16 biodiversity summit, November’s G20 meeting and next year’s Cop30 climate summitThe rainforest nations of Brazil and Colombia have the best opportunity in a generation to drag the Amazon back from the abyss as they host three of the world’s most important environmental negotiations in the space of little more than a year.In the process, their leaders – pacesetting Colombian pre
  
  Read more

• Mass bird deaths in botulism outbreak are linked to climate crisis

  16-10-2024 12:00
  
  More than 94,000 birds have died at Tule Lake wildlife refuge in northern California, its worst recorded epidemicAn ongoing outbreak of botulism, a bacterial illness that causes muscle paralysis, has killed more than 94,000 birds at Tule Lake national wildlife refuge in northern California, the worst such outbreak at the lake ever recorded, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.Affected birds often cannot control their muscles and suffocate in the water, said biologist and ornithologist
  
  Read more

• Is it worse to have no climate solutions – or to have them but refuse to use them? | Rebecca Solnit

  16-10-2024 12:00
  
  Tech barons are forever predicting some amazing new technology to fix the climate crisis. Yet fixes already existThere are so many ways to fiddle while Rome burns, or as this season’s weather would have it, gets torn apart by hurricanes and tornadoes and also goes underwater – and, in other places, burns. One particularly pernicious way comes from the men in love with big tech, who are forever insisting that we need some amazing new technology to solve our problems, be it geoengineer
  
  Read more

• County Durham school drops plan to turn off heat on climate ‘blue nose day’

  16-10-2024 11:30
  
  Wolsingham school’s carbon-cutting event had been planned by pupils but parents raised concernsA school has made a U-turn on a student-led plan to turn the heating off for a “blue nose” climate action day after parents raised concerns.The heating was due to be turned off at Wolsingham school, County Durham, on Friday but the plan has now been postponed until the summer term of next year when it is likely to be warmer. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The Diamondbacks are facing a climate problem. They aren’t alone among US sports teams

  16-10-2024 10:30
  As the threats of climate change continue to become realities in new and sometimes terrifying ways, more and more teams and leagues will have to address the problemThe Arizona Diamondbacks have a climate problem. To be more precise, Phoenix has a climate problem and, as a result, the Diamondbacks have a field that needs renovations if the team is going to keep fans cool – and no one is sure whose responsibility it is to pay for it.The team’s lease on Chase Field expires in 2027, and
  
  Read more

• Mystery debris that closed Sydney's Coogee beach confirmed to be thousands of ‘tar balls’

  16-10-2024 08:48
  Coogee and Gordons Bay beachgoers had been warned not to touch the material. ‘Tar balls’ form from oil spills or seepage at seaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThousands of black golf ball-sized pieces of debris that washed up on the sand and forced the closure of two Sydney beaches have been confirmed as “tar balls”.Coogee beach was closed on Tuesday and Gordons Bay beach was closed on Wednes
  
  Read more

• Plantwatch: Military training ground offers surprise haven

  16-10-2024 07:00
  
  Unaffected by intensive agriculture, Salisbury Plain territory has one of Europe’s richest ecosystems for plant diversityA military training ground with tanks charging around, explosions and gunfire hardly seems a haven for wild plants, but the Ministry of Defence’s Salisbury Plain site is exceptional.The training ground is the largest remaining area of semi-natural chalk grassland left in north-west Europe, an area of 150 sq miles (380 sq km), the size of the Isle of Wight. It is ho
  
  Read more

• English homes ‘face decades of high bills and emissions’ without urgent action from ministers

  16-10-2024 07:00
  
  Bring in ‘future homes standard’ or leave families at risk of higher bills and emissions for decades, MPs and experts sayMinisters must take steps now to ensure that all homes are built to the most efficient low-carbon standards, or risk locking households into higher bills and greenhouse gas emissions for decades to come, a group of MPs and experts have urged.The government is mulling changes to the building regulations in England to bring in a “future homes standard” th
  
  Read more

• Flies, rats and offers of hush money - the price of living next to a ‘monster’ incinerator

  16-10-2024 06:45 via bbc.com
  
  The UK's burden of waste is disproportionately falling on deprived areas, where residents have spoken to the BBC.
  
  Read more

• Suspected oil slick spotted off Sydney's Coogee beach after black balls wash ashore – video

  16-10-2024 06:37
  
  Surfers were seen catching waves near a suspected oil slick off the coast of Coogee in Sydney a day after hundreds of pieces of black debris washed up along the beach. The beach was closed and beachgoers warned not to touch the material, which could be 'tar balls' formed from oil spills or seepage at seaSuspected oil slick spotted off Sydney's Coogee beach after mysterious black balls wash ashore Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Coogee beach suspected oil slick: beachgoers warned after black balls wash ashore – video

  16-10-2024 06:37
  
  Surfers were seen catching waves near a suspected oil slick off the coast of Coogee in Sydney a day after hundreds of pieces of black debris washed up along the beach. The beach was closed and beachgoers warned not to touch the material, which could be 'tar balls' formed from oil spills or seepage at seaSuspected oil slick spotted off Sydney's Coogee beach after mysterious black balls wash ashore Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Country diary: Live fast, die young – that’s the weasel way | Derek Niemann

  16-10-2024 06:30
  
  Mells, Somerset: This one is barely still for a second as it tears around a quiet churchyard, hunting for a meal while evading detectionIf only the war poet Siegfried Sassoon could rise from the grave, he would be enjoying the little drama playing out in the churchyard just metres from where his body lies. Next to an avenue of clipped yews, a weasel is on the run.Does it run, or does it pour? This tiniest of mammal predators, more of a stretched mouse than a mustelid, is a slinky, straight-backe
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!