Environment news

• Oldest cave painting of red claw hand could rewrite human creativity timeline

  21-01-2026 17:00 via bbc.com
  A stencilled outline of a hand found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is the world's oldest known cave painting, researchers say.
  
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• Nature loss is a national security risk, intelligence group warns

  21-01-2026 16:08 via bbc.com
  The degradation of ecosystems around the world threatens UK food security, a long-awaited report says.
  
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• Why are British people so obsessed with bins? | Polly Hudson

  21-01-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Our nation’s fascination with rubbish knows no bounds – as was proved by one recent online debateEven if you’ve never been anywhere near it, the Mumsnet message board is legendary. Since it launched in 2000, it has changed the vernacular – “am I being unreasonable?” is not just a question, it’s a shorthand for the type of person who asks it – and introduced us to the penis beaker (one maverick husband’s postcoital hygiene regime, made infamou
  
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• Toby Carvery owner faces eviction from north London site for felling ancient oak

  21-01-2026 11:25 via theguardian.com
  Felling of 500-year-old oak has provoked fury from public and Enfield council, which leases land to Mitchells & ButlersThe restaurant chain Toby Carvery is facing eviction from one of its sites after taking a chainsaw to an ancient oak tree without the permission of its council landlord.The partial felling last April of the 500-year-old oak on the edge of a Toby Carvery car park in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, provoked widespread public dismay and fury from Enfield council, which leases the lan
  
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• ‘Every time I look at one, I smile!’: how axolotls took over the world

  21-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Our passion for these cute-looking salamanders means they are everywhere – except in the wild, where the species is under increasing threatAxolotls are the new llamas. Which were, of course, the new unicorns. Which triggered a moment for narwhals. If you are an unusual-looking animal, this is your time. Even humans who have never seen an axolotl – a type of salamander – in the smooth and slimy flesh will have met a cartoon or cuddly one. Mexican axolotls have the kind of look t
  
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• UK homes to get £15bn for solar and green tech to cut energy bills

  21-01-2026 10:00 via bbc.com
  The government has announced the details of its long-awaited Warm Homes Plan which promises to cut energy bills.
  
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• Plantwatch: Neighbouring plants warn each other about incoming stress

  21-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  A study of Arabidopsis thaliana plants found that plants growing together activated genes to protect themselves, while isolated plants did notPlants growing close to each other can warn each other about stresses in their lives.Thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants were grown on their own or crowded so close together they were touching each other. When all the plants were then stressed with intense light, the isolated plants suffered severe damage, but the crowds of plants were able to cope w
  
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• Half of world’s CO2 emissions come from just 32 fossil fuel firms, study shows

  21-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Critics accuse leading firms of sabotaging climate action but say data increasingly being used to hold them to accountJust 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half the global carbon dioxide emissions driving the climate crisis in 2024, down from 36 a year earlier, a report has revealed.Saudi Aramco was the biggest state-controlled polluter and ExxonMobil was the largest investor-owned polluter. Critics accused the leading fossil fuel companies of “sabotaging climate action”
  
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• Country diary: I see 38 bird species in a day – but does it matter? | Richard Smyth

  21-01-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Swillington Ings, West Yorkshire: I’m counting, but not counting. The highlight, though, has to be those those gentleman thugs, the greater black-backed gullsLast week, three guys I know took a winter walk around this patch of water, wetland and waterside scrub, and saw 84 bird species. I’m going to write that out in full, like they used to on the football results when someone notched up an improbable score: eighty-four. Most people would be hard-pressed to name 84 bird spe
  
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• Judi Dench backs campaign to protect London’s green spaces from developers

  21-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Actor says it is ‘more important than ever’ to safeguard city’s parks as report finds more than 50 are at riskDame Judi Dench has called for greater protections for London’s parks and green spaces, as research finds more than 50 of the city’s parks are at risk from development.The Oscar-winning actor has long loved trees, and in 2017 fronted a BBC documentary about her love for them. She plants a tree every time a close friend or relative dies, including for her lat
  
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