Environment news

• Plastics in everyday objects may disrupt sleep in same way as caffeine, study finds

  09-05-2025 15:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Findings show for first time how plastic chemicals throw off the body’s internal clock by up to 17 minutesChemicals in everyday plastics may disrupt the body’s natural 24-hour sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythm in a way similar to coffee, which increases the risk of sleep disorders, diabetes, immune problems and cancer, new in vitro research shows.The study looked at chemicals extracted from a PVC medical feeding tube and a polyurethane hydration pouch, like those used by long-dis
  
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• Plan for windfarm in German ‘fairytale forest’ stokes green energy culture war

  09-05-2025 13:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Far right accused of misinformation over turbines at Reinhardswald, which has left local people dividedDeep in the woods that inspired the Brothers Grimm, past the tower from which Rapunzel threw down her hair and the castle in which Sleeping Beauty slumbered, lies a construction site that the far right has declared a crime against national soil and identity.In this quiet corner of Germany’s “fairytale forest”, workers are clearing land and building access roads to erect 18 win
  
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• Two men found guilty of ‘mindless, moronic’ felling of Sycamore Gap tree

  09-05-2025 13:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, found to have criminally damaged tree and Hadrian’s Wall‘Stealing joy’: the sadness and symbolism of the crime at Sycamore GapTwo friends who embarked on a “moronic mission” to fell the Sycamore Gap tree with a chainsaw have been found guilty of “mindless” criminal damage.Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, cut down the cherished tree, next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, as Storm Agnes raged
  
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• ‘Stealing joy’: the sadness and symbolism of the crime at Sycamore Gap

  09-05-2025 11:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Many saw the beloved tree that Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham cut down as a part of north-east England’s DNA“It was just a tree,” said a mystified Adam Carruthers, one of the two men who illegally cut down the tree at Sycamore Gap in the early hours of a stormy night nearly two years ago. “It was almost as if someone had been murdered.”Carruthers was right about the reaction to the felling. Many likened its loss to that of a good friend or relative. Its destructi
  
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• Midsummer butterflies spotted early in Britain after sunny spring

  09-05-2025 11:04 via theguardian.com
  Scientists fear early emerging insects may fall out of sync with pathogens, predators or availability of foodMidsummer butterflies are on the wing in early May after a sunny spring prompted one of the most advanced seasons for Britain’s Lepidoptera on record.The Lulworth skipper – usually found in June and July – is flying at Lulworth Cove in Dorset, the chequered skipper emerged in April rather than mid-May in Scotland and the first swallowtail, which is most common in mid-Jun
  
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• ‘If I had to choose, I’d prefer the earthquake’: the 2015 disaster left Nepal in ruins, now record rains wreak fresh havoc

  09-05-2025 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite attempts to build resilience by improving infrastructure and first response, extreme weather events and US aid cuts have left many feeling vulnerableWhen the monsoon rains came last September, they swept away most of the village of Panauti, in the foothills of the Nepali Himalayas. The Roshi River overflowed after the unprecedented rainfall, triggering landslides and destroying most of the roads and bridges.Peering through the thick blanket of relentless rain “felt like waiting for
  
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• Week in wildlife: A rare chameleon, friendly starlings and hot buffaloes

  09-05-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Litter 'nightmare' as street cleanliness worst on record

  09-05-2025 07:08 via bbc.com
  Residents say litter near their homes is "heart-breaking" as survey finds worst situation on record.
  
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• Weatherwatch: How AI could offer faster, affordable weather forecasting

  09-05-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers say AI could give every developing country a vital early warning system of extreme eventsWeather forecasting has gradually been getting more and more sophisticated. It has also got far more important as the climate gets more unpredictable and extreme events threaten to cause massive economic damage and loss of life. So an early warning system is vital.Ever larger computer systems making millions of calculations over many hours are now part of the daily forecasting in most developed c
  
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• If illegal logging starts again, Liberia could lose more than its beloved pygmy hippos | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

  09-05-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  About 270,000 people died in Liberia’s timber trade-fuelled civil war. I helped to rebuild and protect its forests. Now Europe is threatening to undermine all our hard workIt is sad when a ruthless military dictator funds his government by destroying ecologically important rainforest, logging tropical trees and displacing and robbing the people who live in and depend on the forests for their livelihoods and culture.This happened in my country, Liberia. Continue reading...
  
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• Sadiq Khan to announce plans to build houses on London green belt

  09-05-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Mayor to make major policy shift and say scale of housing crisis requires breaking tabooSadiq Khan is announcing plans to build on parts of London’s green belt, in a dramatic shift in housing policy aimed at tackling “the most profound housing crisis in the capital’s history”.In a major speech on Friday, the mayor of London is expected to say the scale of the challenge, which could need about 1m new homes built in the next decade, requires a break from longstanding taboos
  
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• Experience: I walked the length of the UK with a donkey

  09-05-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  After a relationship breakup, rambling 700 miles from the Highlands to Dorset with Martin helped restore my faith in peopleI’ve always had a keen sense of adventure. During the summer holidays, my parents would push me and my sister out of the front door and tell us only to come home to eat. I went from roaming the streets of Hackney in east London as a child, to trekking, wild camping and hitchhiking the length of the Americas in my late 20s.After returning to my home in Liverpool, I work
  
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• Australia’s clean energy industry has just survived a near-death experience. Where to from here? | Kane Thornton

  09-05-2025 03:03 via theguardian.com
  Voters have spoken with clarity. We want a renewable-powered futureAustralia news live: latest politics and federal election updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA shift toward nuclear power and a significant expansion of gas electricity would have stalled renewable energy investment at the worst possible time, potentially derailing Australia’s transition to a clean, modern energy system. This election was not just a political moment, it was a turning point.Thi
  
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• Moon dust 'rarer than gold' arrives in UK from China

  09-05-2025 01:25 via bbc.com
  First Moon samples collected in nearly 50 years and loaned by China for the first time are now in the UK.
  
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