Environment news

• Australian students plan school strikes to protest against climate inaction

  07-11-2018 04:09 via theguardian.com
  Hundreds say they will skip school, urging politicians to treat climate change as an emergencyHundreds of students around the country are preparing to strike from school because of what they say is a failure by politicians to recognise climate change as an emergency.They’ve been inspired by 15-year-old Greta Thunberg, a Swedish student who has been sitting outside the parliament in central Stockholm to draw attention to the fears younger generations hold about the global climate crisis and
  
  Read more

• Ella Baron on AI and the drought – cartoon

  23-08-2026 19:03 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The end of Latrobe Valley coal – in pictures

  23-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Once the economic lifeblood of the region, Latrobe Valley’s coal industry is in terminal decline. Jesse Thompson’s photographic project aims to document this period of rapid change and examine the legacy that is being left behind Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• ‘I love it. It’s hope’: the mysterious self-willed wildflower meadow that seeded itself

  23-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Farmer Derek Sayer let a boggy field run wild and just one annual hay-cut has led to remarkable biodiversityTucked away on a country lane, a small field bursts with yellow and pink flowers. Quail and whitethroats call from the thick hedges and the plants, including common centaury, yellow rattle and marsh and common spotted orchids, bounce with hoverflies and butterflies.More than 150 plant species have been recorded on Sayer’s Old Meadow, in north Norfolk, England, which is remarkable whe
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Readers reply: Is it inevitable that consumerism will literally fill up the planet?

  23-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions considers whether there is sufficient global physical capacity for all our discarded and worn-out purchases• This week’s question: If all car tyres were filled with CO2, would this cut atmospheric carbon significantly?If consumer capitalism continues at its current rate, will we reach a point at which there is literally no space left on Earth for all the stuff that has been created? Alex Robinson, Alnwick,
  
  Read more

• If all car tyres were filled with CO2, would this cut atmospheric carbon significantly?

  23-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions probes an intriguing scientific question in relation to the climate emergencyReaders reply: Is it inevitable that consumerism will literally fill up the planet?If all the vehicles on the planet had their tyres pumped up with CO2, would this lock up enough carbon to lower the amount in the air significantly? Would there be other issues, such as the carbon cost of trapping it all into the tyres? Chris Coldwell, Lancaste
  
  Read more

• Stores are selling Halloween stuff in August. Time has lost all meaning | Dave Schilling

  23-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Capitalism and the climate crisis are conspiring to destroy the concept of seasons. I’ll take solace in my pumpkin spiceHappy spooky season, everyone! Get those jack-o’-lanterns out, because Halloween is just around the corner!Just kidding, no, it’s not. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Pine-cone grenades and planet-baking carbon: the French fires 170 years in the making – a visual guide

  23-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  An 1857 decree to drain swamps and plant a monoculture, detritus from the trees and global heating combined to produce the conditions for the Gironde infernoThe ruinous fires that overran parts of France this summer have burned more land than ever recorded, forced more people from their homes than at any point since the second world war and caused what scientists suspect is the country’s first firestorm thundercloud. The smoke from France’s biggest inferno in nearly 80 years choked L
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Against the wind: despite Trump’s attacks, unions are fighting for good US clean energy jobs

  23-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, a growing labor movement has addressed the climate crisis and economic inequalityRyan McElroen had spent years repairing the New York City subway underground when he got the opportunity to work in the middle of the ocean.“I had no views other than the darkness at work,” he said. “Then I went polar opposite.” Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• London’s low emission zone is working – so why are cities around the world so cautious about clean air?

  23-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Similar initiatives have been launched from Barcelona to Bogotá, but they have misinformation, political pressure and vested interests stacked against themTen years ago, Alastair Harper was an advocate for young people’s health sitting in a stuffy meeting room in London planning an air pollution campaign. “My phone started buzzing,” he said. “I took the call, and then told the room I needed to leave immediately.“I had to get to UCLH [one of London’s maj
  
  Read more

• Onshore windfarm applications hit 10-year high in England

  23-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Surge in proposals follows Labour’s lifting of de facto ban, with about 45 plans submitted in the year to MarchPlans for new onshore windfarms in England have reached their highest annual level in a decade, after the government overturned the Conservatives’ de facto ban in 2015.About 45 applications for new onshore windfarms were submitted in the year to March,according to a Guardian analysis of government data. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Drill, Burnham, drill? The oil basin that is a totem for Trump – and a headache for Britain’s new PM

  23-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  North Sea oil, once the driving force of the UK economy, may be dwindling but it remains a symbol of prestige and a rich resource for political debateWhen oil was first discovered off the north-east coast of Scotland in September 1969, industry folklore has it that the duty superintendent on the rig carefully poured it into a pickle jar commandeered from the canteen and took it back to Amoco’s Great Yarmouth office in Norfolk. There, it was emptied into an ash tray, sniffed and then set al
  
  Read more

• Drill, Burnham, drill? The oil basin that is a totem for Trump - and a headache for Britain’s new PM

  23-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  North Sea oil, once the driving force of the UK economy, may be dwindling but it remains a symbol of prestige and a rich resource for political debateWhen oil was first discovered off the north-east coast of Scotland in September 1969, industry folklore has it that the duty superintendent on the rig carefully poured it into a pickle jar commandeered from the canteen and took it back to Amoco’s Great Yarmouth office in Norfolk. There, it was emptied into an ash tray, sniffed and then set al
  
  Read more

• Heathrow expansion ‘is threat to England’s largest surviving medieval barn’

  23-08-2026 02:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: campaigners warn 600-year-old New Barn at Harmondsworth could be ‘shaken to pieces’ by vibrationsSix hundred years after it was built, England’s largest surviving medieval timber-framed barn could now be “shaken to pieces” by aircraft vibrations, campaigners warn.The public has until 1 September to submit objections to the Heathrow airport expansion, which could threaten the survival of the New Barn at Harmondsworth, considered a remarkable example of med
  
  Read more

• ‘Devastating’: Western Australia fears a black swan moment as bird flu threatens flagship species

  22-08-2026 22:00 via theguardian.com
  The state’s bird emblem is an indicator species for H5N1, with high visibility populations and low survival rates. Experts are warning of ‘significant mortality’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen the black swans start dying, Western Australians will know that bird flu has truly arrived.The birds are an “indicator species” because once they are infected with the H5N1 virus they are more likely to die than survive, according to the Univers
  
  Read more

• ‘Unsafe for swimming’: Ironman Leeds is latest casualty of heat-fuelled toxic algae

  22-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Athletes faced last-minute cancelling of 2.4-mile swim, as experts say pollution and extreme heat are causing bloomsAs far as athletic accomplishments go, few are held in higher regard than completing an Ironman triathlon.The amount of training required to tackle the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26-mile run that make up the course, as well as the expensive equipment required to train in the first place, means that only about 50,000 people in the world complete a full race and earn the t
  
  Read more

• Young country diary: Camping in my garden, nose to nose with a fox | Ada

  22-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Leeds, West Yorkshire: I missed it first time as my dad couldn’t wake me up. The second time round, he pulled my toeDad and I were boiling in the house because of the UK heatwave. So we decided to camp out and sleep in our garden instead. Before we went to bed, while playing catch, we could hear the swifts swoop around our house in the orange evening light.Once it had cooled down, Dad said it was time for bed and tucked me up. At some point in the night, Dad heard something and he tried to
  
  Read more

• ‘Its pretty much a guarantee you’ll get stung’: jellyfish keep swimmers out of Delaware beaches

  22-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Beach patrols report hundreds of stings a day as warmer waters and drought create favorable conditions for jellyfishAn unusually high number of jellyfish are crowding Delaware’s beaches this summer amid climate change and other environmental factors – keeping some beachgoers out of the ocean and stinging lifeguards as well as bathers.Beach safety patrols in the state have reported hundreds of daily stings as the jellyfish have increased with intensifying environmental factors, includ
  
  Read more

• ‘It’s pretty much a guarantee you’ll get stung’: jellyfish keep swimmers off Delaware beaches

  22-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Beach patrols report hundreds of stings a day as warmer waters and drought create favorable conditions for jellyfishAn unusually high number of jellyfish are crowding Delaware’s beaches this summer amid climate change and other environmental factors – keeping some beachgoers out of the ocean and stinging lifeguards as well as bathers.Beach safety patrols in the state have reported hundreds of daily stings as the jellyfish have increased with intensifying environmental factors, includ
  
  Read more

• Why am I called The Black Farmer? Because there are so few of us in Britain. I’d like that to change | Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones

  22-08-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Running a farm is tough – TV’s Clarkson’s Farm shows that – but I know many minorities would love the chance. And we would all benefit Who’d be a farmer? Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon is great entertainment but it also gives some indication of the stresses and challenges behind the farm gate. Would anyone who lacked the significant alternative income that Clarkson is lucky to have want that? Well, actually, yes.I’m an entrepreneur who owns a farm, as opposed
  
  Read more

• Subterranean salad: underground farmers seek solution to food crisis in disused UK mines

  22-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Researchers in North Yorkshire feel the clock ticking as they aim to transform British food productionIt has the vibe of a Bond villain’s underground lair but the workers in hi-vis and helmets aren’t weighing and packing hard drugs or parts for a death laser. It’s pak choi and lettuce.More than 1,000 metres down, researchers in North Yorkshire have created the world’s deepest underground farm and are running trials for a project that could transform UK food production. Co
  
  Read more

• Battery fires at recycling centres are costing UK £1bn a year, figures show

  22-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Experts say fires caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries, such as thosein vapes, are putting lives at riskFires at recycling centres caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries such as those found in vapes are occurring at the rate of more than 10 a week, according to new figures.Experts say the sheer volume of battery fires now occurring at waste facilities has reached a crisis that is putting lives at risk, costing £1bn a year and frustrating fire chiefs. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Home comforts: can remote work be better for the environment?

  22-08-2026 02:00 via theguardian.com
  Many Australians now have the option to work from home. But is it better or worse for the environment?Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprintGot a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at [email protected] normalisation of working from home and flexible work has been one of the Covid-19 pandemic’s few positive legacies.Today more than a third of Australians &nd
  
  Read more

• The US has a plan to save the Colorado River. Experts say it won’t be enough to stop the crisis

  21-08-2026 21:41 via theguardian.com
  The 10-year blueprint mandates water cuts of up to 40% for California, Arizona and NevadaIt’s official: after years of tense negotiations and missed deadlines, there is finally a plan to govern the future of the imperiled Colorado River - or at least the makings of one.With the previous framework set to expire in October, the US Bureau of Reclamation publicly released its proposal for a new plan on Friday. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• 33m tons of toxic seaweed clogs Caribbean beaches – video

  21-08-2026 21:27 via theguardian.com
  A record amount of sargassum has piled up along coastlines of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Sargassum is a brown seaweed that causes lower oxygen levels and foul-smelling gases when it decomposes on beaches. Researchers and marine scientists have warned that the algae build-up starves underwater plant life of sunlight, affects human health and can leak arsenic into sand Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Britain’s railway prepares for more extreme weather as intense El Niño develops

  21-08-2026 20:07 via theguardian.com
  Experts say more must be done to adapt to changing climate, after two trains derailed within 24 hours during a recent heatwaveRailway companies are racing to prepare for another brutal summer next year, as a developing El Niño could see 2027 break more heat-related records.Britain’s railway system has already been under stress from extreme heat this summer, with several operators reducing timetables and train speeds. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Biggest El Niño for a century forecast to bring UK more autumn rain and storms

  21-08-2026 16:10 via theguardian.com
  ‘Unprecedented’ weather pattern over Pacific Ocean to be felt worldwide, with severe droughts expected in some areasThe El Niño event developing over the Pacific Ocean is likely to be the strongest for more than a century and make 2027 another record-breaking year for heat, the UK’s Met Office has said.Increased rainfall and storms are forecast to hit the UK this autumn as a result of the “unprecedented” weather pattern, while the pulse in heat it generates m
  
  Read more

• Brazil’s vast iron mine that supplies the world and fractures the Amazon – in pictures

  21-08-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  The Grand Carajás project has made the country a mining superpower, but communities living in its shadow face pollution, displacement and silenced historiesContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Proposed London datacentre will have annual carbon footprint of 27,000 flights to New York

  21-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Planning documents show datacentre in north Ockendon will be incompatible with UK net zero targetsA “hyperscale” datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 27,000 flights from London to New York, planning documents show.The East Havering Data Centre Campus (EHDCC) in north Ockendon would be one of the largest datacentres in Europe if approved by Havering council, using 218 hectares of green
  
  Read more

• Proposed London datacentre ‘incompatible’ with net zero with 1m-tonne carbon footprint

  21-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Planning documents show annual emissions from North Ockendon project would be equivalent to 8,480 flights to New YorkA “hyperscale” datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 8,480 flights from London to New York, planning documents show.The East Havering Data Centre Campus (EHDCC) in North Ockendon would be one of the largest datacentres in Europe if approved by Havering council, using 218
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!