Environment news

• Floating towards water treatment

  26-01-2017 15:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  Floating wetlands may seem odd but are perfectly natural. They occur when mats of vegetation break free from the shore of a body of water. That got ecological engineers curious about how they affect the water they bob up and down in.A group from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania and the University of Oklahoma, including researcher William Strosnider, has found that the floating wetlands show promise for water treatment. They engineered four different floating treatment wetlands designs us
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on Lula v the Bolsonaros: the decision of Brazilian voters will affect us all | Editorial

  30-09-2026 19:37 via theguardian.com
  Sunday’s general election is too close to call, with the incumbent president facing the son of the man who attempted a coup against himSunday’s election in Brazil could hardly be a clearer-cut choice – nor a closer call. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, is neck and neck in the polls with Flávio Bolsonaro, the son and champion of the jailed far-right former president Jair. Mr Bolsonaro senior is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup to &
  
  Read more

• The 2026 BirdLife Australia photography awards – in pictures

  30-09-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Gliding king penguins, a sugar thief rosella and a bin brush turkey are among the winning and shortlisted photos in this year’s prize. Funds raised by the competition support bird conservation programs in AustraliaAustralia’s best photos the month – September 2026 Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Two million people in England unaware their properties are at risk of flooding

  30-09-2026 15:50 via theguardian.com
  Environment Agency warns residents of 6m at-risk properties to prepare for wet and windy three months aheadMore than two million people in England are unaware their properties are at risk of flooding, as the UK braces for a wet and stormy start to the winter, according to the Environment Agency.Experts say the next three months are more likely than usual to be wet and windy – due to a combination of large-scale weather patterns and the “subtle” impact of a supercharged El Ni&nt
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Two million people in England unaware that their properties are at risk of flooding

  30-09-2026 15:50 via theguardian.com
  Environment Agency warns residents of 6m at-risk properties to prepare for wet and windy three months aheadMore than two million people in England are unaware their properties are at risk of flooding, as the UK braces for a wet and stormy start to the winter, according to the Environment Agency.Experts say the next three months are more likely than usual to be wet and windy – due to a combination of large-scale weather patterns and the “subtle” impact of a supercharged El Ni&nt
  
  Read more

• Homeowners in England urged to check flood risk: ‘A third of people don’t realise’

  30-09-2026 15:50 via theguardian.com
  Environment Agency warns residents of 6m properties to prepare for a wet and windy three months aheadMore than two million people in England are unaware their properties are at risk of flooding, as the UK braces for a wet and stormy start to the winter, according to the Environment Agency.Experts say the next three months are more likely than usual to be wet and windy – due to a combination of large-scale weather patterns and the “subtle” impact of a supercharged El Niño
  
  Read more

• Wildlife arrives on time at rewilded chalk grasslands built along HS2 route

  30-09-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  The trains may be running late, but the Western Slopes project is already attracting birds and insects on lands around the high-speed railwayThe air is scented with the sweet tang of ladies bedstraw and made musical by skylark and blackcap song. An abundance of marbled white butterflies, small skippers and common blue damselflies dart over the flowering knapweed, yarrow and wild carrot.That the largest chalk grassland in the Chilterns is full of wildlife may not surprise you. But the fact that i
  
  Read more

• UK banks are Europe’s biggest coal financiers, report finds

  30-09-2026 13:58 via theguardian.com
  Study says UK-based banks provided $8.3bn in coal financing in four years, with Barclays and HSBC leading riseUK banks are Europe’s biggest financial backers of the global coal industry, providing billions of pounds in funding for the climate-wrecking fossil fuel in the past four years, according to a report.The study found UK-based banks had provided $8.3bn (£6.2bn) in coal financing since Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021, when global leaders pledged to “phase down” coal use. Th
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Insects play critical role in ecosystems beyond just providing food, new research shows

  30-09-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Insects provide protection, sanitation and even shelter to vertebrates, making them a priority for conservation effortsFor many vertebrates, insects are more than a food source. As “little things that run the world”, insects provide critical functions such as protection, sanitation and shelter across ecosystems, according to a new study.The study, published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity on Wednesday, sheds light on the various ways insects support vertebrates, ranging from birds and
  
  Read more

• ‘Beyond priceless’: how a halt to dredging saved the seas of Scotland’s Summer Isles

  30-09-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Fish and shellfish populations were falling rapidly as scallop dredgers devastated the seabed, but local activists and small-scale fishers battled hard to protect their coastlineInside a bothy overlooking the Summer Isles, in the north-west of Scotland, the lilting tones of a traditional Gaelic duo fill a room full of musicians, storytellers, artists, local people and revellers, hung with fish-shaped lanterns and “Happy Birthday” signs.It’s no ordinary birthday. The people in t
  
  Read more

• Half a million trees to be planted in England in three years, says government

  30-09-2026 08:08 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Environment secretary Angela Eagle to make pledge as part of efforts to protect against extreme weatherHalf a million trees will be planted across England in the next three years to protect against extreme weather, the environment secretary, Angela Eagle, will pledge on Wednesday morning.Mayors, local authorities, charities and grassroots groups will be given new funding and responsibilities for restoring natural landscapes such as wetlands, river edges and meadows, which can provide
  
  Read more

• World’s seas heated by a record 23 zettajoules last year

  30-09-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The injection of thermal energy, 40 times that used by humanity in total, comes amid an increasing rise in sea levels and continuing acidificationA record-breaking 23 zettajoules of heat was sunk into the world’s seas last year, leaving ocean waters hotter, higher and less hospitable, a report has found.The explosive addition of thermal energy, which was almost 40 times greater than all the energy humanity used that year, comes amid far-reaching changes to the deep water bodies fundamental
  
  Read more

• World’s oceans absorbed record heat equal to 40 times annual global energy use

  30-09-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The injection of thermal energy comes amid an increasing rise in sea levels and continuing acidificationA record-breaking 23 zettajoules of heat was sunk into the world’s seas last year, leaving ocean waters hotter, higher and less hospitable, a report has found.The explosive addition of thermal energy, which was almost 40 times greater than all the energy humanity used that year, comes amid far-reaching changes to the deep water bodies fundamental to life on Earth. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Autumn sunshine could extend Britain’s bumper year for butterflies

  30-09-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  More species are squeezing in an extra generation before colder weather arrivesSummer is over, most flowers were frazzled long ago and we might expect to see few butterflies beyond September. But it is not over yet.The reverberations from one of the best butterfly seasons in Britain this century will continue if there is more autumn sunshine. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Country diary: The land here is scarred from a year of hard weather – now what will winter hold? | Alexandra Pearce-Broomhead

  30-09-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Camborne, Cornwall: There will be more storms like Goretti and more fires next summer, but we can make the landscape more resilientA grey wagtail flits at the stream’s edge, its flaxen underbelly matching the woodland’s autumn swatch. A few months ago, this bird may have struggled to catch a midge or water snail here, after the streambed nearly ran dry. Sitting by the water now, it’s easy to forget the damage this area suffered this year. But the land remembers.Many months on f
  
  Read more

• Tern turnaround: colonies in England show signs of recovery after decline

  30-09-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  National Trust says latest figures encouraging – with numbers of birds on the rise – but work still to be doneEngland’s most important tern colonies are showing signs of recovery after being hit by years of bird flu, flooding and increasingly unpredictable weather, new figures from the National Trust reveal.The trust reported record numbers of little terns at Long Nanny in Northumberland, one of the UK’s most important breeding sites for what is the country’s second
  
  Read more

• ‘I just saw this furry brown bottom disappear!’ In search of Samba – the fearless fugitive capybara

  30-09-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Six months ago, Samba made a brave, unprecedented escape from Marwell zoo. Her life on the lam continues today. We join the team hunting desperately to find her in the Hampshire countrysideSamba the capybara is still at large. Along with her older sister, Tango, the intrepid rodent made her escape from Marwell zoo in Winchester in March. Tango all but gave herself up on day two; Samba broke for the marshy wetlands of the River Itchen. Word spread and within days the fugitive was an international
  
  Read more

• ‘I do not know if the doctor survived’: young mothers recall ‘living hell’ of Nepal’s floods

  30-09-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Kalpana Nepali was seven months pregnant when the catastrophic flash floods hit last month, while Pooja Pariyal spent three days on a hospital roof waiting to be rescued. Now, they are living precariously in temporary sheltersFor three days, Pooja Pariyal waited on the roof of Trishuli hospital with her three-month-old daughter, Ridhika. On the ground below and around the building, most of her town had been destroyed and churned into a sea of mud in the catastrophic flash floods that surged thro
  
  Read more

• South West Water fined £8m for hundreds of sewage spills in Cornwall and Devon

  29-09-2026 17:19 via theguardian.com
  District judge orders record fine for region and says incidents of pollution cannot be toleratedA water company has been ordered to pay a record fine of almost £8m for hundreds of sewage spills at popular bathing spots and sensitive habitats in Cornwall and Devon.On one occasion, untreated sewage gushed through a harbour wall on a bank holiday weekend but South West Water (SWW) engineers took 10 hours to attend. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• New English homes in flood-risk areas could become uninsurable, says Aviva boss

  29-09-2026 15:32 via theguardian.com
  Amanda Blanc says flooding threat is ‘absolutely increasing’, as she also warns ministers over ‘kite flying’ before budgetBusiness live – latest updatesThe boss of Britain’s biggest insurer has said that homes being built now in England could become uninsurable in the future because they are sited in flood-risk areas.Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva, said the flooding threat was “absolutely increasing”. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The night sky is getting 10% brighter every year. We’re forgetting what darkness feels like

  29-09-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  If more cities start regulating outdoor lighting, we humans could make the environment better for all living creaturesEvery night, I can turn off the lights in my room – but I can’t do anything about the outdoor lights in the walkway or parking lot that leak through the curtains. Living in Portland, where the night is still illuminated by street lights, porch lights and parking lot glare, I forgot what it actually feels like to sleep in darkness.I was excited when I realized my trave
  
  Read more

• How gold surpassed cocaine as Peru’s most profitable criminal industry

  29-09-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  As gold prices surge, illegal mining has laid waste to swathes of Tambopata National Reserve’s rainforest“Halt, stop right there,” shouts a Peruvian Navy Seal, firing warning shots into the air. But the fleeing man pays no attention, scrambling up to the rim of a football pitch-sized crater and disappearing into the dense rainforest as the commandos give chase, swearing and shooting.Meanwhile, other marines set dynamite charges on a makeshift wooden raft that floats in the crat
  
  Read more

• New UK homes in flood-risk areas could become uninsurable, says Aviva boss

  29-09-2026 11:28 via theguardian.com
  Amanda Blanc says flooding threat is ‘absolutely increasing’, as she also warns ministers over ‘kite flying’ before budgetBusiness live – latest updatesThe boss of Britain’s biggest insurer has warned that homes being built now could become uninsurable in the future because they are sited in flood-risk areas.Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva, said the flooding threat was “absolutely increasing”. Assuming current construction patterns conti
  
  Read more

• UN warns of ‘narrowing window’ to restore world’s forests

  29-09-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Food and Agriculture Organization urges governments to make forest restoration a national priority The world faces a “narrowing window” to restore forests essential for food security and resistance to the climate emergency, a United Nations report has warned.More than 489m hectares (1.2bn acres) of forests have been cleared since 1990, while an even greater area is degraded, the world body said in a call for governments to make forest restoration a national priority. Continue reading
  
  Read more

• Saving the Siamese crocodile: Cambodia moves to protect one of the world’s last wild populations

  29-09-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Indigenous communities play crucial role, as ‘genetic bank’ area of wetland offers hope for critically endangered reptileIn the 1990s, conservationists in Cambodia feared the Siamese crocodile had disappeared for good. Fishing and hunting had devastated the species throughout the 20th century, leaving populations across its native south-east Asia on the brink of extinction.But in villages dotted among the wetlands of the remote Cardamom mountains, Indigenous Chorng communities still
  
  Read more

• Country diary: A tangle of butterflies and battle re-enactments | Paul Evans

  29-09-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  The Marches, Shropshire: On a day of micro-dramas past and present, we witness a Welsh victory over the English, just as it was 861 years agoI’m telling the story from a pub in the bailey opposite the ruins of Oswestry Castle. There in 1165, Henry II, the Angevin (Anglo-Norman) king of England, gathered troops from the Marcher Lords to advance on an alliance of Welsh princes for control of the Marches.The previous Sunday, 861 years later, we went the same way as Henry’s army to Chirk
  
  Read more

• Can Labour bring down our energy bills? | Politics Weekly

  28-09-2026 23:02 via theguardian.com
  Speaking to Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, said a mark of her success or failure would be whether she could get bills down and said she would do so. She also challenged Reform UK and the Tories on their climate inaction, saying they would eventually ‘bow’ because they were on the ‘wrong side of history’. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Trump administration to slash clean car rules aimed at cutting climate emissions

  28-09-2026 17:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmentalists decry move that relaxes requirements on automakers to control pollution from gas-powered carsThe Trump administration on Monday announced it was slashing clean car rules that had been aimed at reducing planet-heating emissions and boosting electric vehicles.The move, which was criticized by environmentalists, relaxes requirements on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and light trucks for model years 2022 through 2031. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Gene-edited bananas that don’t go brown could hit UK supermarkets

  28-09-2026 17:50 via theguardian.com
  Scientific breakthrough could reduce food waste and make it easier to add the fruit to prepackaged foodIt is the bane of every fruit bowl: sliced banana that turns brown before it has reached the table. But such woes could soon be a thing of the past, with gene-edited bananas that keep their freshly peeled colour now one step closer to reaching British shoppers.According to Tropic, the Norwich-based agricultural-biotechnology company that developed the fruit, the bananas have the same taste and
  
  Read more

• ‘Are these chemicals in my blood?’ How one community learned the truth about Pfas pollution

  28-09-2026 16:54 via theguardian.com
  People living next to a chemicals plant near Blackpool were tested for ‘forever chemicals’. Last week they received the alarming resultsLast February, I got a call from a woman called Sam Hammond. We had been speaking on and off for a while over her growing concern that her garden could be affected by pollution from a nearby chemical plant.That morning, Sam had been hand-delivered a letter from her council informing her that her pet ducks’ eggs, reared in her garden, were conta
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!