Environment news

• Mars InSight: Inside Nasa's mission control

  26-11-2018 08:57 via bbc.co.uk
  As Nasa prepares to land on Mars, Victoria Gill has been to the centre of operations and found out about an unusual tradition.
  
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• Key takeaways: should you BYO containers when buying food?

  21-03-2026 00:00
  Asking for coffee in a reusable cup or reusing shopping bags is second nature for many, but bringing your own containers for takeaway can take getting used to. Here are some tips to get started 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] the advent of cheap, single-use take away packaging, legend has it t
  
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• Mexico’s monarch butterfly population jumps 64%, offering hope for at-risk species

  20-03-2026 18:41
  The insects covered its largest area since 2018, despite threats from habitat loss, climate crisis and pesticidesThe population of monarch butterflies in Mexico increased 64% this winter, compared with the same period in 2025, offering a glimmer of hope for an insect considered at risk of extinction.The figures, released this week by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico, showed that the area occupied by monarchs expanded to 2.93 hectares (7.24 acres) of forest from 1.79 hectares (4.42 acres) the
  
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• ‘Yes to fields of wheat, no to fields of iron’: how the world’s greenest country soured on solar

  20-03-2026 15:00
  In Denmark, the spread of solar panels has become a divisive issue among voters, especially in rural areasIn one telling of the story, the golden fields of a proud farming nation are under attack. Besieged by an industrial sprawl of solar panels, they are being smothered at the behest of an urban elite.That narrative has failed to thrive in conservative heartlands such as Texas and Hungary, which have embraced solar power while lambasting green rules. But it is taking root in Denmark, the most c
  
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• ‘It’s not sustainable’: US farmers reeling as Iran war pushes fertilizer costs up

  20-03-2026 12:00
  Closure of strait of Hormuz – a key fertilizer production and transportation route – has squeezed farmers as prices jumpRodney Bushmeyer has been farming as long as he can remember. Bushmeyer’s father was a farmer, as was his grandfather.The family-run Bushmeyer Farms in Illinois dates back more than 100 years, when his ancestors came to the US from Germany. They acquired the first 80 acres cost-free as homesteaders, cleared the land, and worked it. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Agriculture of life’: the Rio families growing bananas to protect the world’s largest urban forest

  20-03-2026 12:00
  In the middle of the city, traditional growers blend crops with native species to preserve Pedra Branca state park’s biodiversityThe sound of the scythes wielded by brothers Jorge and Ubirajara Cardia breaks the silence in the hills of Vargem Grande, in the south-west zone of Rio de Janeiro city. Quilombola from the Cafundá Astrogilda community, they harvest bananas the same way their ancestors used to. Every week, they select the bunches of prata, maçã, and Cavendish
  
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• ‘Hybrid organ’: how a union of trees and fungi could revolutionise forest management

  20-03-2026 11:00
  A US startup supplies spray for fast-growing loblolly pines with the hope of increasing biodiversity – and reducing the need for artificial fertiliserAt a commercial tree nursery near Evans, western Louisiana, 5m pine seedlings are packed on to 12 vast circular irrigation tables, each as wide as a football field. Last September, many of these young trees were sprayed with what looked like muddy water.The substance was in fact a liquid extract teeming with hundreds of species of wild soil f
  
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• ‘Smokeless’ fuels produce more ultrafine particles that get embedded in lungs, study shows

  20-03-2026 07:00
  The tiny size of the particles means they can become deposited deep in people’s lungs, causing a health riskNew research has found that burning “smokeless” or low-smoke fuels may be causing new air pollution hazards on streets and in homes.These fuels are sold as alternatives to burning coal, wood and peat at home, but tests reveal their smoke contains large quantities of tiny ultrafine particles, smaller than the wavelength of light, that can deposit themselves deep in our lun
  
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• People in North Yorkshire town found to have ‘alarming’ levels of toxic Pfas chemicals in blood

  20-03-2026 07:00
  Exclusive: Testing in Bentham, home to UK’s highest recorded Pfas levels, finds one in four have blood levels in greatest risk categoryAlarming levels of toxic forever chemicals have been found in the blood of people living in a town previously revealed to be contaminated with the UK’s highest recorded level of Pfas.Pfas, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and commonly known as forever chemicals because of their persistence in the environment, have been linked to a wide ra
  
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• Country diary: The messy chaos of nesting herons | Mary Montague

  20-03-2026 06:30
  Stranmillis University College, Belfast: There’s a fuss going on high up in the trees, as these early breeders have already got going with this year’s broodA robin is singing. Moonlight gleams through the trees. These woods are home to a breeding colony of grey herons and, until recently, their incessant yells were part of the dawn chorus. Today, the quietness of an established heron nest high in a beech tree is good news. Herons share parental care and one of the pair is up there &n
  
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• US states sue Trump over his move to scrap greenhouse gases ruling

  19-03-2026 20:09 via bbc.com
  The lawsuit seeks to overturn the Trump administration's reversal last month of the 2009 ruling that underpins all US policies aimed at lowering emissions.
  
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• Meet the Seattle families living communally to bring down costs – in pictures

  19-03-2026 19:00
  As Americans face a housing crisis, this development shows how communal living can bring homeownership within reach – and foster connection Continue reading...
  
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• Sex garden to ‘break taboos’ at Chelsea flower show as gnome ban ends

  19-03-2026 16:00
  Lovehoney sponsors Aphrodite-themed ‘pleasure garden’ full of flowers associated with love and sexIt is one of the most prestigious events of the UK social calendar, but the great and good attending Chelsea flower show may be in for a shock this year as the Royal Horticultural Society unveils a sex-themed garden sponsored by a company that sells vibrators.Lovehoney, a sex toy company, is sponsoring an Aphrodite-themed “pleasure garden” full of flowers and plants associate
  
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• King opens world's longest coastal path around England

  19-03-2026 15:34 via bbc.com
  The King Charles coastal path will allow walkers right of access to the entire coast for the first time.
  
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• Updated plan aims to boost NI's resilience to climate change

  19-03-2026 15:02 via bbc.com
  The third climate change adaptation plan for Northern Ireland should have been in place since 2024.
  
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• Just two flavours of chips and pub theme nights: how these isolated Queensland towns have survived being cut off for weeks

  19-03-2026 15:00
  Birdsville and Bedourie locals are used to being trapped by flooding – but if they run out of Tim Tams and chocolate, ‘that’s a big problem’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTo many city dwellers, becoming trapped for weeks where you live would be a terrifying prospect. Not so for the remote outback towns of Birdsville and Bedourie on the edge of the Munga-Thirri Simpson desert. Five weeks after flooding cut off roads into the towns, the residents
  
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• Stop mowing the lawn – and five more ways to save Britain’s ‘charming’ and ‘polite’ gatekeeper butterflies

  19-03-2026 13:46
  Conservation can be hard work. But not when it comes to helping these little orange and brown beautiesYou’ve almost certainly seen gatekeeper butterflies, even if you don’t know them by name. The gatekeeper is, says naturalist and butterfly enthusiast Matthew Oates, “a charming butterfly; a charming meditation of soft oranges and browns”. Traditionally found in the “scrub edges” (the borders between grassland and woods) and at hedge margins, they are frequentl
  
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• Launch of map to report Asian hornet sightings

  19-03-2026 13:21 via bbc.com
  People are being asked to report Asian hornet sightings as they are an invasive species on Jersey.
  
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• UK to cut climate aid to developing countries by 14% to £2bn a year in ‘refocus’

  19-03-2026 08:00
  Move will put national security and lives overseas at risk, critics say, as overall UK aid budget is slashed to 0.3% of gross national incomeClimate aid to developing countries from the UK will be cut by about 14% to roughly £2bn a year under government plans, in a move critics said would put national security and lives overseas at risk.The move follows bitter rows with the Treasury, which wanted deeper cuts owing to pressure on spending resulting from the war in Iran. Continue reading...
  
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• We need to be honest about Iran – and how our rampant greed for oil is causing mayhem | George Monbiot

  19-03-2026 07:00
  Oil has empowered capitalism, and some of the world’s most exploitative regimes. Move away from it and we can solve some of the key issues we faceI realise this is a serious breach of etiquette. But could we perhaps abandon good manners and contextualise Donald Trump’s attack on Iran? The intense western interest in the Middle East and west and central Asia, sustained for more than a century, and the endless attempts by foreign governments to shape and control these regions, are not
  
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• Thousands of seabirds dying on western Europe’s coasts

  19-03-2026 07:00
  Puffins, guillemots and razorbills are being washed up dead or dying on Europe’s Atlantic coast in what scientists call a ‘wreck’Thousands of seabirds – mostly puffins, but also many guillemots and razorbills – are being washed up dead or dying on the Atlantic coasts of western Europe, in what scientists call a “wreck”.This year’s events, the consequence of a series of severe storms during the late autumn and winter, are the worst since 2014, when
  
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• Stopping gas dictating UK energy price could cut bills by £200, thinktank says

  19-03-2026 07:00
  Iran war has increased gas price, with effects on UK energy bills that could be avoided, Common Wealth saysHousehold energy bills could be reduced by up to £203 a year by stopping expensive fossil gas setting the price of energy in the UK, according to a report.Under the existing system, gas – the most expensive form of electricity production in the UK system – set the price of energy 85% of the time in 2024 in the UK, even though it generates only about a quarter of Britain&rs
  
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• Possum found in Hobart airport gift shop's toy section – video

  19-03-2026 01:48
  A possum surprised Hobart airport staff after wandering into a departures gift shop, where it settled among plush toys on Wednesday. A spokesperson said the animal appeared calm, and was safely escorted out of the terminal without incident Continue reading...
  
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• Higgs boson breakthrough was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts

  18-03-2026 20:40 via bbc.com
  Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.
  
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• Fly tippers face clearing up own rubbish as punishment

  18-03-2026 18:13 via bbc.com
  Fly tippers could face up to 20 hours of community service removing rubbish they have illegally dumped.
  
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• ‘They called me a water terrorist’: exiled Iranian scientist wins global prize

  18-03-2026 17:15
  Prof Kaveh Madani, winner of the Stockholm water prize, was accused of sabotage with his environmental work Eight years before he got the call telling him he had won the Stockholm water prize, Prof Kaveh Madani was being interrogated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, accused of being a spy for the CIA, MI6 or the Mossad.Today he is in exile and on Wednesday won the world’s most prestigious water prize for combining “groundbreaking research on water management with policy, diploma
  
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• Wales strikes deal to speed up renewable energy schemes

  18-03-2026 13:59 via bbc.com
  The impact of the war in the Middle East on oil prices makes energy independence more important, ministers say.
  
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• Butterflies crossing oceans, moths navigating by the stars: unravelling the mysteries of insect migrations

  18-03-2026 09:00
  Trillions of insects embark, largely unnoticed, on epic journeys every year across mountain ranges, deserts and seas, and it is only now, as their numbers suffer huge declines, that scientists are tracking their movementsOn a cloudless sunny day in October 1950, ornithologists Elizabeth and David Lack stood on a mountain pass in the Pyrenees and observed a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle – clouds of migrating insects.Up to 500 butterflies were fluttering past them every hour through the 2,200
  
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• Plantwatch: the Natal crocus co-opts fire, bees and ants to reproduce

  18-03-2026 07:00
  Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it tricks ants into moving its seeds with a scent that mimics their larvaePlants are superb at enticing animals to pollinate their flowers or carry off their seeds. But one plant co-opts an astonishing combination of fire, bees and ants to mastermind its reproduction.The South African Natal crocus, Apodolirion buchananii, has a gloriously bright white flower that emerges from the ground before its leaves appear in early spring. But the flower only blooms shor
  
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• Government to lift paywall from large parts of the Land Registry

  18-03-2026 07:00
  Exclusive: finding out who owns land will become simpler under plans to make the best use of green spaces and hit net zero targetsFinding out who owns land in England is to become much simpler because a paywall will be lifted from large parts of the Land Registry, the government is to announce.A small number of landowners control the majority of land but finding out who owns what is difficult to piece together, even for government departments, owing to the way the Land Registry operates. Freeing
  
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