Environment news

• US grounds SpaceX's Starship after test flight explosion

  17-01-2025 22:09 via bbc.com
  
  The rocket's upper stage disintegrated over the Caribbean, forcing airline flights to alter course.
  
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• These are the hazards Californians face after fires – and what can homeowners do to protect themselves

  17-01-2025 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Angelenos returning to homes in burned areas could be exposed to toxic materials and mudslidesThe wildfires raging across the Los Angeles landscape have destroyed many thousands of homes and buildings and damaged hundreds more.And each property, experts warn, could pose a risk to Angelenos even long after the flames are extinguished. Continue reading...
  
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• Martin Rowson on the record leap in global CO2 levels – cartoon

  17-01-2025 16:32 via theguardian.com
  
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• Sydney’s unusual sewerage system to blame for faecal and fat balls on beaches, experts claim

  17-01-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  City invented Australia’s beach culture, environmentalist Richard Gosden says, but all this time ‘it’s been conducted in diluted sewage’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt’s the height of summer in Sydney, a time when tourists and locals are usually flocking to the city’s famous beaches.But nine beaches were shut to the public this week – including well-known Manly – after more ball-shaped debris washed ashore.Sign up for
  
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• Otters among UK wildlife carrying toxic ‘forever chemicals’, analysis shows

  17-01-2025 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Some wildlife species have accumulated many times more than safe amount of PFAS in their tissue and organsRevealed: drinking water sources in England polluted with forever chemicalsRevealed: scale of ‘forever chemical’ pollution across UK and EuropeDolphins, otters, porpoises, fish and birds across the UK have been found to have toxic “forever chemicals” in their tissue and organs, analysis of official data has revealed.Manmade chemicals called PFAS, known as forever chem
  
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• How climate-friendly waterwheels are coming around again

  17-01-2025 13:59 via theguardian.com
  
  From the Himalayas and Nepal to Northern Ireland, sustainable source of energy seems to be back in vogueIn the foothills of the Himalayas, a group of villagers hauled a sturdy metal waterwheel into place. Its horizontal blades soon caught the rushing water of the stream directly below it. The machine began to spin, and electricity began to flow.The roughly 2-metre-tall waterwheel, installed in a village in Kashmir, India, was the result of years of design work and development by researchers at t
  
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• ‘It’s going to be rough’: what Trump’s response to LA fires portends for future climate disasters

  17-01-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Big oil executive plans to celebrate Trump’s inauguration as California burns – though experts say climatic conditions are only getting more extremeDonald Trump’s response to the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles has provided a stark prologue to how his US presidency will likely handle the growing threat of such disasters – through acrimony, brutal dealmaking and dismissal of a climate crisis that is spurring a mounting toll of fires, floods and other calamities.As of
  
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• Can’t wait for spring to get growing in the garden? Then make sure you know your onions

  17-01-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Planting seeds, rather than bulbs, is cheaper, and there are more varieties to choose fromThere are several reasons I shy away from growing onions: how much space they take up and how small my plot is; how long they need to stay in the ground; and given how inexpensive they are, why bother? But if you’ve started the year with a hankering to begin the growing season, starting onions from seed is a task you can do now.Many gardeners will be waiting until spring to start off th
  
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• Week in wildlife in pictures: chilly pelicans, a baby gorilla and a spider fan’s dream come true

  17-01-2025 09:25 via theguardian.com
  
  The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• 'Once-in-a-century' discovery reveals spectacular luxury of Pompeii

  17-01-2025 08:19 via bbc.com
  
  A huge private bathhouse is found after lying hidden for 2,000 years under volcanic rock and ash.
  
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• Weatherwatch: Could small nuclear reactors help curb extreme weather?

  17-01-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As natural disasters make need to cut CO2 emissions clearer than ever, energy demand of AI systems is about to soarViolent weather events have been top of the news agenda for weeks, with scientists and fact-based news organisations attributing their increased severity to climate breakdown. The scientists consulted have all emphasised the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.At the same time there are predictions about artificial intelligence and datacentres urgently needing vast amounts of new e
  
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• ‘Everyone thought it would cause gridlock’: the highway that Seoul turned into a stream

  17-01-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Cheonggyecheon stream in the South Korean capital has become an attraction – and helps with flood management, fighting air pollution and cooling the cityOn a crisp December morning, office workers and tourists stroll along a tree-lined stream in central Seoul, pausing on stepping stones that cross its flowing waters. It’s difficult to imagine that just over 20 years ago, this was a vast elevated highway carrying 168,000 cars daily through the heart of South Korea’s capital.Cheo
  
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• Wildfires drive record leap in global level of climate-heating CO2

  17-01-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Data for 2024 shows humanity is moving yet deeper into a dangerous world of supercharged extreme weatherWildfires that blazed around the world in 2024 helped to drive a record annual leap in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, surprising scientists. The data shows humanity is moving yet deeper into a dangerous world of supercharged extreme weather.The CO2 level at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii jumped by 3.6 parts per million (ppm) to 427ppm, far above the 280ppm level before the large
  
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• UK failing to match EU in fight against ‘forever chemicals’, say scientists

  17-01-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Experts criticise Defra’s decision not to use OECD definition of PFAS, with one asking if move is ‘politically based’What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed?Leading scientists have criticised the UK government for failing to take stronger action to tackle “forever chemical” pollution and refusing to match moves in the EU to ban non-essential uses of the substances.Last year, 59 experts in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) sent a lett
  
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• Scottish government must do more to control salmon farming, inquiry finds

  17-01-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Report criticises ‘slow progress’ on industry regulation, amid record fish mortality and concerns over welfare and environmental pollutionThe Scottish government has been criticised for its “slow progress” on regulating the salmon farming industry by a parliamentary inquiry that took evidence for five months before reaching its conclusion.The report reveals that MSPs “seriously considered” calling for a moratorium on new farms and expansion of existing sites d
  
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• National Trust project to plant almost half a million trees this winter

  17-01-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Schemes at 20 sites in England will create woodlands, wood pasture, hedgerows and orchardsSome of the schemes are relatively modest, such as orchards planted with heritage varieties of fruit and nut trees, while others are much grander, thousands of trees linking up existing patches of woodland to create nature-rich forests.Almost half a million trees are being planted in England this winter in a partnership between the National Trust and a UK-government funded project, creating woodlands, wood
  
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• Colombian tree frog found by Sheffield florist highlights invasive species threat

  17-01-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists say frog’s journey shows difficulty of spotting insects or fungi spread by global plant tradeA tiny tree frog hitchhiking in a bunch of roses to Sheffield from Colombia has inspired a study into invasive species reaching the UK’s shores.Dr Silviu Petrovan, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s zoology department and a senior author of a paper published today in the journal BioScience, had his interest piqued when he was asked to identify a live frog found in
  
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• SpaceX Starship test fails after Texas launch

  17-01-2025 03:27 via bbc.com
  
  Officials at Elon Musk's company said the upper stage was lost, minutes after it launched.
  
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• I’ve been climbing Tasmanian mountains for years – but I’m terrified of heights | Ben Walter

  17-01-2025 03:01 via theguardian.com
  Our society emphasises the value of conquering and overcoming your fears – but I can live with the idea of not climbing every mountainEarlier this year, I finally climbed Mount Anne. This has taken an unlikely amount of time – I’ve been climbing Tasmanian mountains for years, but had never been up one of the island’s signature summits.A “peak bagging” hobby is great fun, and takes you out to all sorts of interesting places. Some Tasmanians set themselves to cl
  
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• Warnings of stowaway snakes and tree-frogs hiding in pot plants

  17-01-2025 02:12 via bbc.com
  
  Frogs, lizards, snakes and insect pests are being transported across the world on ornamental plants.
  
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• Warning of stowaway snakes and tree-frogs hiding in pot plants

  17-01-2025 02:12 via bbc.com
  
  Frogs, lizards, snakes and insect pests are being transported across the world on ornamental plants.
  
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• Nepal's leader says it has too many tigers. Does it?

  17-01-2025 00:05 via bbc.com
  
  Wild tigers killed nearly 40 people in Nepal between 2019 and 2023. Solutions are hard to come by.
  
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