Environment news

• Fears for protected bats if glamping pod plans are approved

  18-10-2026 21:22 via BBC News
  
  Without a mitigation strategy the effect on the creatures would be "major", a survey says.
  
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• Fuel leak spreads more than two miles along River Taff

  18-10-2026 15:10 via BBC News
  
  Public Health Wales advise people living nearby to shut their doors and windows due to the smell.
  
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• The next ayahuasca? Gabon fights to protect sacred plant from US drug companies

  18-10-2026 15:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Iboga root, central to several Gabonese ritual traditions, is believed to have huge potential for use in treating addiction and some mental illnessesThe temple is dark, its sandy floor edged with candles. People sit shoulder to shoulder beneath palm fronds hung from the rafters. Through the night, they swallow what they have come here for: a bitter root bark called iboga.Tabernanthe iboga is a slow-growing central African rainforest shrub, the root bark of which has long been used in several Gab
  
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• US workers facing deadly heat embrace tactic that targets major brands’ reputations

  18-10-2026 14:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Program founded by tomato growers has some of the strongest US worker protections – and its approach is being emulated by other groups“It’s the kind of heat that makes you feel like you’re being dehydrated, like your skin is drying out,” said Lucas Benitez, after harvesting watermelons with his sons and wife this summer. “The heat that we had 30 years ago is not nearly the heat that we have today.”This summer was the hottest on record in the US, and most
  
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• US workers facing deadly heat borrow from tomato pickers to win key protections

  18-10-2026 14:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  As efforts to protect people from extreme heat stall, organizers are embracing an approach that targets major brands’ reputations“It’s the kind of heat that makes you feel like you’re being dehydrated, like your skin is drying out,” said Lucas Benitez, after harvesting watermelons with his sons and wife this summer. “The heat that we had 30 years ago is not nearly the heat that we have today.”This summer was the hottest on record in the US, and most work
  
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• The problem with telling people the world is ending

  18-10-2026 13:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  In the face of terrible crises, it can feel right to shock people into action. But what if that has the opposite effect?These days, it’s easy to succumb to hopelessness. Whether you’re thinking about the climate crisis, the prospect of AI apocalypse, war or political turmoil, the list of challenges facing humanity can seem insurmountable.It certainly feels unprecedented, and much of it may be. The sense of impending doom, on the other hand, is nothing new. And what we have learned fr
  
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• A California town’s beaches are washing away. Can its residents turn the tide?

  18-10-2026 13:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Rapid coastal erosion threatens coastal homes and economies, and as Super El Niño rounds the corner, a town is reckoning with the reality of climate crisisSan Clemente is one of southern California’s most picture-perfect beach towns – a capital of American surf culture since the 1950s. In two years, 2028 Olympic surfers will compete at Lower Trestles, a world-class surfing beach.But the town’s longtime cultural and economic driver, its beaches, are now under threat. As p
  
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• Free clear-up has big engagement on social media

  18-10-2026 12:59 via BBC News
  
  One man's battle against weeds and overgrown pathways makes a big difference to the town
  
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• Pony herd gathering raises money for air ambulance

  18-10-2026 12:25 via BBC News
  
  Kristina Auckland said the herd was made up of around 100 ponies.
  
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• If Trump fells 430 trees in the middle of a golf course, do they make a sound?

  18-10-2026 12:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  
  In attempting to turn a public space in DC into an enclave for elites, Trump is moving the US capital closer to GracelandWhen is a tree not a tree? When it’s an obstacle to a par-3. If a tree falls in the middle of a golf course, does it make a sound? Yeah, probably. I wasn’t there, but I have to assume, based on my limited knowledge of the laws of physics.What I do know is that Donald Trump’s crusade to clear more than 400 trees for the purposes of redeveloping East Potomac Go
  
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• More peas, please! 17 delicious ways to devour Britain’s most brilliant vegetable

  18-10-2026 11:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  
  They’re healthy, versatile, sustainable and available. Yet pea consumption in the UK is at a 50-year low. Here are the curries, dips, pasta dishes and even cakes that could turn all that aroundIt’s not good news for the pea farmers: pea consumption in the UK has fallen to a 50-year low. According to data from Defra, the average Briton ate just 37g of peas per week in 2025, down from 144g per week in 1975.Though a classic British staple, peas are not for everybody. Apparently only 22%
  
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• How to see the Orionid meteor shower

  18-10-2026 10:54 via BBC News
  
  One of the best-known meteor showers peaks this week and will remain active until 7 November.
  
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• Turning the tides: Could hidden sea power energise our coastal towns?

  18-10-2026 10:12 via BBC News
  
  Engineer David Mummery has developed a tidal energy generator that he says can change lives for people living in coastal communities.
  
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• Seal pups spotted at nature reserve for 12th year

  18-10-2026 08:20 via BBC News
  
  Two pups have been recorded at South Walney, home to Cumbria's only breeding grey seal colony.
  
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• Heat pumps and insulation would cut UK living costs more than new oilfields, study suggests

  18-10-2026 08:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Warm homes plan would create 50,000 jobs, compared with about 1,100 for Rosebank oilfield, thinktank findsInsulating Britain’s homes and investing in heat pumps would do more to cut the cost of living, create jobs and boost the UK’s economy than drilling for new oil, research suggests.The government’s £15bn warm homes plan, currently under threat of cuts as ministers seek budget savings, would slash £1bn a year from household energy bills across the UK, concentrated
  
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• Corby metal pollution may harm people, says study

  18-10-2026 07:37 via BBC News
  
  However, the Environment Agency says it has not found evidence that could cause significant harm.
  
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• Two damselfly species return to restored woodland

  18-10-2026 07:16 via BBC News
  
  A three-year project to restore woodland at seven nature reserves is completed.
  
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