Environment news

• EPA kept scientists from speaking about climate change at Rhode Island event

  23-10-2017 18:10 via Environment | The Guardian
  Scientists were expected to report that climate change is affecting air and water temperatures, precipitation, sea level and fish in New England’s largest estuaryThe Environmental Protection Agency kept three scientists from speaking at a Rhode Island event about a report that deals in part with climate change.The scientists were expected to discuss in Providence on Monday a report on the health of Narragansett Bay, New England’s largest estuary. The EPA did not explain exactly why t
  
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• Indigenous students retrace Lewis and Clark’s historic journey: ‘We can’t protect what we cannot see’

  14-11-2026 15:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Two centuries after the expedition, Indigenous students are conducting a new wildlife survey along the routeIn 1804, when Thomas Jefferson dispatched Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their Corps of Discovery to explore the newly acquired land west of the Mississippi, the president’s primary aim was political: Americans needed to establish presence, power and trade routes in these territories before the Europeans beat them to it.But Jefferson, an ardent naturalist, had a secondary agenda.
  
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• Choking fires, deadly heat and devastating floods: 2026 in extreme weather

  14-11-2026 14:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  People around the world have contended with unprecedented weather events and their fatal effects caused by the climate catastropheAfter the world’s hottest summer since records began in 1850, the death toll from extreme weather in 2026 is already in the high tens of thousands. That is a conservative estimate and is certain to rise much higher.As Cop31 continues and scientists warn that climate breakdown may be accelerating, the Guardian looks back at a year of droughts, fires and floods as a r
  
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• Greenpeace boulders may delay building of £12bn windfarms in North Sea

  14-11-2026 12:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Activists dumped rocks off Norfolk coast on site of Burnham-backed project in protest against seabed trawlingThe giant offshore windfarms backed by Andy Burnham this week may face unexpected stumbling blocks after Greenpeace activists unwittingly dumped about 15 tonnes of boulders on to the site as part of a campaign against seabed trawling in the North Sea.Greenpeace created the “boulder barrier” to safeguard harbour porpoises off the Norfolk coast by dropping giant stone blocks, each weigh
  
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• Bristol aims to become UK’s first ‘wetland city’ and reduce flood risk

  14-11-2026 08:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Five-year project will create wildlife corridors by building wetlands and increase access to green and blue spacesBristol could become home to the UK’s first “wetland city” thanks to a charity’s efforts to create vast wildlife corridors that will reduce flood risk and give people more access to green and blue spaces.The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) said the five-year initiative would include more than 200 projects to restore and create wetlands across the city. These will range fr
  
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• ‘An environmental and welfare disaster’: British salmon loses its organic status

  14-11-2026 07:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  This week the Soil Association withdrew certification from organic salmon after 20 years. What went wrong?The first haul of farmed salmon in Britain was a relatively modest 14 tonnes, produced off the west coast of Scotland near Fort William in 1971.For Unilever, the vast multinational that pioneered salmon farming, it was a triumph after years of experimenting with how to cage fish, battle against diseases and cope with the wild weather. Unilever had spotted in the 1960s that farming salmon, wh
  
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• Country diary: One of Britain’s oldest surviving traditions – and it’s all over in four minutes | Doc Rowe

  14-11-2026 06:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire: It takes place in the dark, and this year there’s misty rain to contend with, but the wroth silver ceremony has endured for centuriesBefore sunrise on 11 November, while most people are still sleeping, representatives of 25 Warwickshire parishes gather on Knightlow Hill to observe one of Britain’s oldest surviving customs.The wroth silver ceremony is at least 850 years old, first appearing in written records in 1170, and requires payment of annual rent to the
  
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• Compost your cutlery and avoid campsite ‘Armageddon’: how music festivals are going sustainable

  14-11-2026 00:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Warmer weather in Australia heralds the peak of the outdoor music and festival season. Compared with securing a ticket, reducing your festival footprint is easyChange 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] fans heading to Strawberry Fields next weekend won’t need to drive.The multi-day music, arts and wellbeing
  
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• Can pornography help save Tasmania’s rainforests? Kirsha Kaechele hopes so

  13-11-2026 20:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  The ‘first lady’ of Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art has launched an OnlyFans portal with an ambitious – and controversial – goalThe forestry workers took unusual care as they picked their way through the mossy undergrowth of a Tasmanian forest. They were carrying a small group of furries – humans in animal suits that can cost thousands of dollars – mindful of not letting any tails drag in the mud. Hired as production crew for the day, they were more used to hearing the drone of
  
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• Fight the climate crisis or go for growth? There is a way Burnham can do both | Jonathan Freedland

  13-11-2026 18:10 via Environment | The Guardian
  The environmental and economic dilemmas he faces are formidable but, with a bold plan, he could set an example for leaders around the worldFor politicians of the centre-left especially, it’s the great dilemma of the age. How do you do what everyone can see is essential to save the planet from boiling – even as your voters demand action to get the economy growing and to make life more affordable? Plenty of activists will tell you there’s no contradiction, that tackling the climate crisis ma
  
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• ‘You cannot build peace on a burning planet,’ UN chief tells Cop31 in farewell speech

  13-11-2026 18:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  António Guterres says climate action central to every aspect of UN’s work, as leaders depart Cop31 and talks go onTackling the climate crisis is central to all of human life and must be at the forefront of global governance, the outgoing UN secretary general has said in an emotional farewell address at the Cop31 climate summit.“You cannot build peace on a burning planet,” António Guterres said at his final climate press conference as secretary general on Friday. “You cannot eradicate p
  
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• Right to make green challenges to planning decisions under threat, say UK lawyers

  13-11-2026 16:27 via Environment | The Guardian
  Exclusive: Government in ‘private meetings’ about removing cost cap protections under Aarhus conventionThe government is considering stripping back legal protections that limit the costs community groups face when challenging planning decisions that threaten nature.The Aarhus convention, an environmental treaty that was signed into law by the UK in 2005, guarantees the legal right to participate in democratic processes on environmental matters – such as sewage pollution, new roads or datac
  
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• Cop31 as it happened: ‘You cannot build peace on a burning planet’, warns UN chief Guterres in final climate summit speech

  13-11-2026 16:27 via Environment | The Guardian
  Debate over climate science, transition away from fossil fuels, electrification and climate finance can begin in earnest as world leaders leave UN summitFar away from the conference centre, Norway’s supreme court has declared the state’s decision to award three permits for oil and gasfields in the North Sea invalid, as it had not accounted for the harm caused by burning the fuels.The decision, hailed as a win by climate campaigners, does not automatically revoke the permits or demand an imme
  
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• Cop31 live: ‘You cannot build peace on a burning planet’, warns UN chief Guterres in final climate summit speech

  13-11-2026 15:24 via Environment | The Guardian
  Debate over climate science, transition away from fossil fuels, electrification and climate finance can begin in earnest as world leaders leave UN summitFar away from the conference centre, Norway’s supreme court has declared the state’s decision to award three permits for oil and gasfields in the North Sea invalid, as it had not accounted for the harm caused by burning the fuels.The decision, hailed as a win by climate campaigners, does not automatically revoke the permits or demand an imme
  
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• ‘Incredibly unusual’ bird migrating from Siberia found in Cumbria – killed by cat

  13-11-2026 15:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Siberian rubythroat was thousands of miles off course from its route to winter in south or south-east AsiaA bird that flies south from its breeding grounds in Siberia to winter in south and south-east Asia has been found thousands of miles off course in Cumbria. Regrettably, it was found by a cat.Chris Hind, Cumbria’s county recorder for birds, said it was “extraordinary” that a Siberian rubythroat was found on his patch, albeit dead. There have been only 17 recorded instances of the bird
  
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• Cop31 live: ‘I will never give up’ UN chief tells climate summit ahead of last address

  13-11-2026 13:53 via Environment | The Guardian
  Debate over climate science, transition away from fossil fuels, electrification and climate finance can begin in earnest as world leaders leave UN summitFar away from the conference centre, Norway’s supreme court has declared the state’s decision to award three permits for oil and gasfields in the North Sea invalid, as it had not accounted for the harm caused by burning the fuels.The decision, hailed as a win by climate campaigners, does not automatically revoke the permits or demand an imme
  
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• New York is running out of room for its waste even with Statue of Liberty-sized landfill

  13-11-2026 13:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  One company is proposing elongating the life of the dump, pungent smell and all, several more decadesAs a visual representation of how New York is running out of places to put its waste, the largest active landfill in the state is a striking one. The hulking Seneca Meadows landfill is already the height of the Statue of Liberty and its operators are seeking to raise it even further, to the consternation of nearby residents.The landfill, situated in the scenic Finger Lakes region in the northern
  
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• New York is running out of room for its waste even with Statue of Liberty sized landfill

  13-11-2026 13:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  One company is proposing elongating the life of the dump, pungent smell and all, several more decadesAs a visual representation of how New York is running out of places to put its waste, the largest active landfill in the state is a striking one. The hulking Seneca Meadows landfill is already the height of the Statue of Liberty and its operators are seeking to raise it even further, to the consternation of nearby residents.The landfill, situated in the scenic Finger Lakes region in the northern
  
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• El Niño will increase risk of death in childbirth for millions, say midwives

  13-11-2026 13:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  
  Effects of extreme weather expected in countries that already have high maternal and newborn death ratesEl Niño stokes a higher risk of death in childbirth for millions of women in the world’s harshest crisis zones, midwives have warned.Converging waves of weather – floods, cyclones and extreme heat – forecast to peak in the coming months will prove fatal for many, especially pregnant women, who face being cut off from hospital when in labour. Continue reading...
  
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• A super El Niño brings startling changes for marine life on California coast: ‘like nothing we’ve ever seen’

  13-11-2026 13:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Water temperatures are climbing the charts, high tides are swallowing the shoreline and vital parts of the food web that feed ocean diversity are disappearingOn a picturesque autumn afternoon last week, the beaches of California’s Monterey Bay were teeming with life and death.A cadre of shorebirds charged and retreated in a synchronized dance with the raging surf. Nearby, the receding tides had deposited lifeless bundles of feathers and bone, tangled in piles of glistening kelp. Swollen sea li
  
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• Week in wildlife: Scottish beavers, running giraffes and good news for dormice

  13-11-2026 09:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Cop31 live: Climate crisis negotiations heat up on fifth day of talks

  13-11-2026 08:55 via Environment | The Guardian
  Debate over climate science, transition away from fossil fuels, electrification and climate finance can begin in earnest as world leaders leave UN summitChina has ruled out hosting the Cop33 UN climate summit in 2028 after months of deliberations, leaving the field open for other Asian countries to hold it, the Guardian understands.The decision will disappoint many countries and climate experts, who had hoped the world’s biggest emitter would take the lead on the global stage, as the US under
  
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• Children’s exposure to home wood-burning could be as significant as traffic exhaust, study suggests

  13-11-2026 07:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Research finds highest levels of cancer-related PAH pollutants in cities that have widespread wood heatingChildren’s exposure to home wood-burning could be as significant as exposure to traffic exhaust, suggests new research across six European towns and cities.Scientists measured the air in buildings where children spend much of their time; in schools, sports centres and homes. Specifically, they looked at polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a family of pollutants that are given off when
  
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• Country diary: Why did some trees fall in the storms and others not? It could be spalting | Kate Blincoe

  13-11-2026 06:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: The woodland floor is littered with sycamore and ash, some revealing a pattern that runs through trunks like words in a stick of rockAn ash tree swayed, audibly groaning, a split in the trunk opening and closing like a mouth. Suffering from ash dieback, it seemed it could topple at any second here in the quiet of the woodland. A few weeks ago, Dad set the trail camera on it, to capture the moment of fall. Since then, two storms have churned through Norfolk – treatin
  
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• World is now in ‘age of electricity’, energy agency chief says

  13-11-2026 06:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Exclusive: Fossil fuels no longer dominant energy source, IEA leader says, as summit considers electrification pledgeThe world has left behind the age of coal, oil and gas and is now firmly in “the age of electricity”, the world’s leading energy economist has said.Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said more than twice as much electricity generation would be added to the global economy in the next decade than in the last, as countries scramble to
  
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• ‘I spend less, that’s all that matters’: life in the world’s most electrified countries

  13-11-2026 06:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Owning an electric car, driving an electric motorbike taxi, riding scooters – we speak to people in Oslo, Kigali and Shanghai about their everyday routinesThe race to electrification has emerged as a key theme of this year’s UN climate summit: increasing the use of electricity – particularly from clean sources – has the potential to improve daily life for people around the world.The summit’s co-hosts are now trying to get countries to promise to increase their electricity use to 35% of
  
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• ‘El Niño turned off the taps’: factors behind Indonesia’s wildfires revealed

  13-11-2026 05:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Country’s fiercest blazes in at least a decade produced toxic smog blamed for 400,000 respiratory infections Indonesia’s fiercest fires in at least a decade were amplified by an “El Niño that turned off the taps” and “fossil fuels that turned up the heat”, scientists have revealed.Along with the conversion of forests to plantations, this created the conditions for blazes that have burned almost 3m hectares (7.4m acres) – 19 times the size of Greater London – this year, and cast
  
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• ‘Goats are good. They listen’: the herder who defeated Montenegro’s military – and can identify her cows’ herby burps

  12-11-2026 17:14 via Environment | The Guardian
  To Hold a Mountain tells the incredible story of a woman whose way of life was threatened when she heard her pastures were set to become a Nato training zoneThe star of To Hold a Mountain is having trouble with her goats, which keep escaping. So my interview with Mileva “Gara” Jovanović is rescheduled to a moment where the animals are under control and Gara can descend from the peaks to her small winter residence in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, for a video call.“You have to take ca
  
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• Cop31 as it happened: ‘No one is coming to rescue us,’ Greta Thunberg tells climate summit

  12-11-2026 16:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  World leaders including UK prime minister Andy Burnham addressed the summit today, as talks near the end of the first weekZack Polanski, leader of the Green party in the UK, criticised Andy Burnham’s Cop31 speech on Radio 4’s Today programme. Saying he was “not at all reassured” by the prime minister’s words, he described it as a “bizarre” speech.Polanski said climate action is about what you do, not what you say, referring to the recent decision by the energy secretary, Miatta Fah
  
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• ‘It is much, much faster’: could China’s battery-swapping e-trucks be the answer to EV range anxiety?

  12-11-2026 15:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  
  Battery maker CATL aims to have 2,000 swapping stations in China by the end of 2027 and to bring the tech to EuropeEvery day, Wang Bing drives his big electric lorry to send about five tonnes of goods between the cities of Haikou and Dongfang on Hainan, a tropical island in southern China. A round trip covers about 500 kilometres (310 miles). But refuelling is not something Wang worries about.“When my battery runs low, I just drive my truck into a battery-swapping station to get a fully charge
  
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