Environment news

• Harold ‘the Kangaroo’ Thornton: the extraordinary, forgotten life of the ‘greatest genius who ever lived’

  11-03-2026 15:00
  The Australian artist was a relentless self-promoter, prolific painter and pro wrestler. He loved a tall tale – but his true story was remarkableGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIf you checked out the Archibald prize finalists back in 1983, one painting in particular might have caught your eye. Taking up seven feet of wall space, Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz is a psychedelic portrait of the then Greens leader, Bob Brown, rendered in rich colours and filled with hidden detail
  
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• ‘Severe water stress’: why desalination plants are the Gulf’s greatest weakness

  11-03-2026 13:01
  Recent attack on plants led to fears of escalating strikes, but Iran knows drought has left it equally vulnerableMiddle East crisis – live updatesIn 1983, the CIA determined that the most crucial commodity in the Gulf was its desalinated potable water.Although the loss of a single plant could be handled, “successful attacks on several plants in the most dependent countries could generate a national crisis that could lead to panic flights from the country and civil unrest”. And
  
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• How Toronto's snow mountains hide a toxic secret – video

  11-03-2026 12:57
  The Guardian reporter Leyland Cecco visits an almost 100ft-tall snow mountain, one of six created in Toronto to store all the snow cleared from roads and paths across the city.Toronto has spent more than C$1bn dollars over a decade to successfully re-naturalise the mouth of the Don River. But this is at risk because the salt contained in the snow mountains is likely to end up in water systems, causing an 'ecological crisis'.More than 130,000 tonnes of salt were used during the winter's record sn
  
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• Peak interest: Toronto’s snow mountains that refuse to melt are a toxic hazard

  11-03-2026 12:00
  Reaching up to 100ft, these massive piles contain tonnes of salt that keep roads clear – but pose environmental risksMost mountains take tens of millions of years to form. Toronto’s newest mountain took just days.Towering atop the crowns of evergreens, it has no skeleton of limestone or granite. There are no spires, cornices or headwalls. It is simply piles upon piles of snow, mixed with a toxic cocktail of road salt, antifreeze, oil, coffee cups and lost keys. It is the final restin
  
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• ‘When I leave, part of me stays’: why Scarborough’s youth won’t turn their backs on the seaside town they love

  11-03-2026 11:00
  Hemmed in by the sea and poor transport links, many young people from the Yorkshire town feel trapped, but there is also a pride in the areaIt’s the morning after a wet and stormy day in the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough. The waves, which the previous day had been crashing dramatically on the harbour walls, have calmed and a few brave souls have entered the water with surfboards. There is a man throwing a ball for his dog on the beach and a kayaker bobbing on the waves.Just up from
  
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• This is the story of Weda Bay – and how nature is being sacrificed for mining

  11-03-2026 08:00
  Analysis has found more than 3,000 mining operations within the most naturally precious areas of the planet, a much bigger footprint than previously thoughtWeda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth’s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy.Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key biodiversity areas
  
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• The Iran oil crisis has proved Ed Miliband right on green energy. But households still need more help | Mathew Lawrence

  11-03-2026 08:00
  Britain’s whole energy economy needs to be reformed – decarbonising the grid is only part of the mixBritain is once again paying the price of an energy system that is more effective at extracting profits than delivering security. Illegal war and geopolitical disruption are sending fossil fuel prices soaring – and because our electricity market turns volatile gas prices into higher electricity bills, families here risk paying the cost. The government is already unpopular. How it
  
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• How nature is being sacrificed for mining across the world – a data visualisation

  11-03-2026 08:00
  Analysis has found more than 3,000 mining operations within the most naturally precious areas of the planet, a much bigger footprint than previously thoughtWeda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth’s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy.Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key biodiversity areas
  
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• Toxic pet flea treatment chemicals found at 'damaging' levels in rivers

  11-03-2026 07:24 via bbc.com
  Scientists have found further evidence that pet flea treatments are widespread in rivers across the UK.
  
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• Ultrasound repellers could keep hedgehogs off roads, scientists hope

  11-03-2026 07:00
  Study shows animals hear very high frequencies, making it possible to design a deterrent to cut deathsHedgehogs have been discovered to hear high-frequency ultrasound, raising hopes that they could be deterred from dangerous roads with ultrasound repellers.Vehicles are estimated to kill up to one in three hedgehogs, a big factor in the much-loved mammal’s drastic decline across Europe over recent decades. Continue reading...
  
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• Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’

  11-03-2026 07:00
  Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefitsAchieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast.Eliminating the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by adopting renewable energy and green technologies, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, would be t
  
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• Birdwatch: Blue tits are feisty and fascinating but often taken for granted

  11-03-2026 07:00
  They will soon be looking for nest sites to begin the huge effort of raising their brood of between eight and 10 chicksIf there were an award for the most underrated British garden bird, the blue tit may well come out on top. Feisty and fascinating, this colourful little creature is so common and familiar that we often take it for granted.This could be because of the blue tit’s ubiquity. In both the main garden bird surveys in the UK – the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch and
  
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• Country diary: The art of noticing rewards with a mini glittering web | Jeni Bell

  11-03-2026 06:30
  Knightwood Inclosure, New Forest: I realise my knowledge of my favourite haunt is the size of the spidery-speck hanging in the heatherIn soft sunlight the woodland wakes. Brimstone butterflies boast their presence, a raven pair rattle overhead, and the first scents of warming earth drift upwards. Spring shouts its arrival across Knightwood Inclosure, home of the New Forest’s girthiest tree, the Knightwood Oak. It falls on deaf ears though; knelt in mud, immersed in undergrowth, I’m m
  
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• ‘My lovely distraction’: live stream of kākāpō – world’s fattest parrot – and her chicks captivates New Zealand

  11-03-2026 02:03
  More than 100,000 people have tuned in to watch ‘kākāpō cam’, which captures a rare flightless bird sleeping, tidying her nest and fighting off intrudersOn an island in New Zealand’s remote southern fjords, one of the world’s strangest and rarest parrots – the kākāpō – is caring for her tiny chick as fans from across the globe watch on.Through the black and white lens of a hidden camera, a fluffy orb with a kazoo-like squeak jostl
  
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• Secret of hedgehog hearing discovered at far beyond human range

  11-03-2026 01:24 via bbc.com
  Researchers played a sountrack to hedgehogs to identify the frequency of sounds they can hear
  
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• Prioritising AI data centres could block new homes, builders warn

  11-03-2026 01:11 via bbc.com
  The government plans to give data centres priority access to the electricity grid to speed up development.
  
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