Environment news

• New koala gene map could help prevent extinction

  03-07-2018 01:02
  The research could be used to cure chlamydia in the marsupial, which can cause infertilityThe first comprehensive genetic map of the koala has unearthed valuable new information about the world-famous marsupial that scientists say will bolster efforts to save them from possible extinction.A consortium of 54 scientists from around the world came up with the genetic blueprint which sheds light on the marsupial’s diet as well as the population decline it has suffered as a result of urbanisati
  
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• The Guardian view on Donald Trump and the climate crisis: the US is in reverse while China ploughs ahead | Editorial

  15-02-2026 18:30
  The president’s destructive policies enrich fossil fuel billionaires, while Beijing has bet big on the green transitionDevastating wildfires, flooding and winter storms were among the 23 extreme weather and climate-related disasters in the US which cost more than a billion dollars last year – at an estimated total loss of $115bn. The last three years have shattered previous records for such events. Last Wednesday, scientists said that we are closer than ever to the point after which
  
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• Charity buys tract of land for Wales’ biggest rewilding project

  15-02-2026 15:55
  Project in Ceredigion aims to help country catch up with large-scale nature recovery projects elsewhere in UKA Welsh charity has bought more than 480 hectares (1,195 acres) in Ceredigion to establish Cymru’s “flagship” rewilding project, helping the country catch up with large-scale nature recovery projects under way elsewhere in the UK.Tir Natur (Nature’s Land), founded in 2022, announced it had acquired the site at Cwm Doethie in Elenydd, or the Cambrian mountains, afte
  
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• Charity buys £2.2m tract of land for Wales’ biggest rewilding project

  15-02-2026 15:55
  Project in Ceredigion aims to help country catch up with large-scale nature recovery projects elsewhere in UKA Welsh charity has bought more than 480 hectares (1,195 acres) in Ceredigion to establish Cymru’s “flagship” rewilding project, helping the country catch up with large-scale nature recovery projects under way elsewhere in the UK.Tir Natur (Nature’s Land), founded in 2022, announced it had acquired the site at Cwm Doethie in Elenydd, or the Cambrian mountains, afte
  
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• Let's get a grip and learn how to live with the rain | Emma Beddington

  15-02-2026 15:00
  Wetter winters are set to become the norm, so unless we’re farmers or flood victims, we need some coping strategies to keep our spirits upThere’s a lot of complaining about the weather currently and I get it, it’s wet. Here in York the river is getting above itself yet again and the council has fenced off large puddles in the park for health and safety reasons, to widespread mockery. Things currently taking in water include the letterbox (yesterday the postman told me with a ma
  
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• The greening of career education: US students learn new skills as climate crisis intensifies

  15-02-2026 14:00
  Some districts are adding programs in clean energy and sustainability, while one state is infusing environmental lessons into culinary education and constructionOn one end of the classroom, high school juniors examined little green sprouts – future baby carrots, sprigs of romaine lettuce – poking out of the soil of a drip irrigation system they built a few weeks prior.On the opposite end of the room, a model of a hydropower plant showed students how the movement of water can stimulat
  
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• ‘It makes no sense’: the battle over plans for a windfarm by the Yorkshire Dales

  15-02-2026 08:00
  The fight for Hope Moor is set to be repeated across the UK as the government aims to hit its renewable energy targetsInstead of a slingshot, the Davids are brandishing a sculpture and a coffee table book. Their Goliaths are a Norwegian energy company and a UK energy secretary with renewable targets to meet.A fierce battle has begun over one of England’s tallest windfarms, proposed for deep peat moorland overlooking the Yorkshire Dales national park, in what residents say will mark the irr
  
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• ‘What’s more important, the electricity or food?’: Extreme heat is driving up power bills in central Australia

  14-02-2026 20:00
  Vanessa Napaltjari Davis puts $70 per week on her prepaid electricity card – but as Alice Springs swelters through ever-hotter summers, that credit lasts less than three daysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSince the start of summer, Vanessa Napaltjari Davis and her grandchildren have sweltered in their two-bedroom home. Temperatures in the southern half of the Northern Territory have been well above average, and the electricity running their single air-conditione
  
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• ‘What do we want gardens to sound like?’ It began with a frog pond – then suburban rewilding became an obsession

  14-02-2026 20:00
  Wild gardening is about shedding obsessions with tidiness, embracing a looser aesthetic and providing a home for ‘the most important creatures on the planet’On a wintry January day in Manchester, I crossed University Green, navigating a paved path behind our hotel through lush patches of lawn. It was the start of the inaugural “Wilding Gardens” conference. For two days, scientists and practitioners were gathering to discuss new ways to think about gardens and nature, abou
  
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• From cigarette-smoking orangutans to lavender for lions: Melbourne zoo’s dark history gives way to progressive animal care

  14-02-2026 20:00
  Tackling the tension between promoting conservation, keeping animals in captivity and its heavy history, the zoo has been reshaped around environmental awarenessOn the other side of wire mesh, two large lions pace, shaking their shaggy manes and occasionally letting out a low rumbling, not quite a roar. They think – or perhaps hope – it is feeding day but their keepers have other plans.“We sort of mimic what happens in the wild,” Meryl says. “They got fed on Monday.
  
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• Democratic senators launch inquiry into EPA’s repeal of key air pollution enforcement measure

  14-02-2026 17:32
  Senators said repeal was ‘particularly troubling’ and was counter to EPA’s mandate to protect human healthMore than three dozen Democratic senators have begun an independent inquiry into the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following a huge change in how the agency measures the health benefits of reducing air pollution that is widely seen as a major setback to US efforts to combat the climate crisis.In a regulatory impact analysis, the EPA said it would stop assigning a
  
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• ‘Seasons have become confused’: the people struggling in UK’s relentless rain

  14-02-2026 07:00
  A thatcher, gardener and others on keeping their business afloat in the bad weather – and their fears for the futureWith 76 flood warnings still in force across the UK and further downpours forecast this week and next, parts of the country have endured rain almost without pause since the start of the year.The prolonged wet weather is disrupting livelihoods as well as daily life, particularly in rural areas, where flooded roads, waterlogged ground and repeated storms are making it harder to
  
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• Rain, rain, go away: the peculiar British stoicism of ‘celebrating’ awful weather

  14-02-2026 07:00
  Bizarre idioms for downpours are just one facet of how the UK uses dark humour and ritual to brave the wetMay it fall as a blessing, not as a curse. So goes the ancient prayer inviting us to embrace days of rain.It is a prayer that would not be welcomed by anyone on the floodplains the UK persists in filling with houses. It would be met with outright hostility by any farmers who are now unable to do any of the things they need to do in February because their land has had literally 40 days and ni
  
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• Race to find source of carcinogenic Pfas in Cumbria and Lancashire waters

  14-02-2026 07:00
  Exclusive: High levels of banned ‘forever chemical’ have been detected in rivers and groundwater at 25 sitesA string of toxic pollution hotspots has been uncovered across Cumbria and Lancashire, with high levels of the banned cancer-causing “forever chemical” Pfos detected in rivers and groundwater at 25 sites.The contamination, spread across a large area, was uncovered by Watershed Investigations and the Guardian after a freedom of information request revealed high conce
  
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• Country diary: There’s a monster looming over our garden | Gwyneth Lewis

  14-02-2026 06:30
  Cardiff: It steals light, it discourages growth at its base, and it blocks what was once a panoramic view. How do I make peace with it?It goes against the grain for me to hate a plant, but I’ve been resenting a certain Leyland cypress for a long time. Planted by a neighbour in the 1970s to give the house we overlook privacy, it now blocks part of our panoramic view over Cardiff. When we moved in 12 years ago, I was able to lie down in bed and see only sky. In that time the solitary tree ha
  
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• ‘A different set of rules’: thermal drone footage shows Musk’s AI power plant flouting clean air regulations

  13-02-2026 19:00
  Images confirm xAI is continuing to defy EPA regulations in Mississippi to power its flagship datacentersElon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is continuing to fuel its datacenters with unpermitted gas turbines, an investigation by the Floodlight newsroom shows. Thermal footage captured by Floodlight via drone shows xAI is still burning gas at a facility in Southaven, Mississippi, despite a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruling reiterating that doing so requires a state
  
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• DJ more, channel Zohran and get a sleep doctor: Adam Bandt on life after politics and saving the planet

  13-02-2026 15:00
  The former Greens leader’s appointment as CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation raised eyebrows – but for him, the mission remains the sameGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSometime in the months after his shock defeat at last May’s federal election Adam Bandt made a decision: his time in party politics was over.Friends and colleagues had suggested the former Greens leader consider running for parliament again in 2028 – either returning to
  
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• Week in wildlife: a thirsty raccoon, a superhero squid and a delinquent swan

  13-02-2026 09:00
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• River Thames spot among 13 sites shortlisted for swimming status

  13-02-2026 08:00
  Choice could prove difficult for Thames Water, which is trying to push through a water recycling scheme nearbyThe first designated bathing water area on the River Thames in London has been shortlisted as one of 13 new monitored swimming areas across the country.The Thames at Ham, in south-west London, was shortlisted as a new river bathing water after campaigners gathered evidence to show thousands of people use the river for swimming throughout the year. Continue reading...
  
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• Businesses must take responsibility for biodiversity loss – for their sake as much as ours

  13-02-2026 08:00
  Scientists believe we’re seeing the largest loss of life since the dinosaurs – and it’s a risk to the global economy. Governments and companies need to work together on solutions• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIt feels like groundhog day: another week, another warning about the seriousness of the biodiversity crisis. This time it was the financial sector’s turn, as on Monday a major report, approved by more than 150 governments, s
  
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• Weatherwatch: The surprisingly complex science of ice skating

  13-02-2026 07:00
  Pressure, frictional heating and a disordered layer of molecules on top of the ice make skating possibleIce skating is counterintuitive: why should a narrow blade make it easier to slide over the ice? The science is surprisingly complex, but unscientific people worked out the practical application a long time ago.William FitzStephen described how Londoners entertained themselves in freezing conditions in 1173: “Crowds of young men go out to play on the ice. Some of them fit shinbones of ca
  
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• ‘We are hopeful’: small signs of recovery for Scotland’s rare capercaillie bird

  13-02-2026 07:00
  Number of males at RSPB Abernethy rises to 30, after ‘huge amount of work’ by conservationists in Highlands forestsAfter decades of decline, there are signs of hope for the capercaillie, one of Britain’s most endangered birds.Populations of the charismatic grouse, which is found only in the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands, have increased by 50%, from 20 males in 2020 to 30 in 2025 at RSPB Abernethy. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: Here be monsters – less than a millimetre long | Phil Gates

  13-02-2026 06:30
  Stanhope, Weardale: One of the best gifts I’ve ever received is a microscope. Sixty years on, it’s still a wonder to watch a mini rainforest in actionIt was hard to resist running my fingers over the velvet carpet of moss that smoothed the drystone wall’s jagged capstones. Six months ago, after four heatwaves and prolonged drought, these same mosses resembled brown, wizened threads of dried tobacco. Today they were an inch-tall emerald forest again, studded with yellow moss bel
  
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• Tony Blair’s thinktank accuses Ed Miliband of driving up energy prices

  13-02-2026 01:01
  Report by Tony Blair Institute urges government to drop some green policies amid criticism of decarbonisation goalAnalysis: Blair’s oil lobbying is a misleading rehash of fossil fuel industry spinTony Blair’s thinktank has accused Ed Miliband of driving up energy prices in his push to make Britain’s energy supply more environmentally friendly.The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) published a report on Friday criticising the government’s green policies and urging the energy secre
  
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• The science of soulmates: Is there someone out there exactly right for you?

  13-02-2026 01:01 via bbc.com
  For many, the idea of soulmates still shapes how love is understood.
  
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• MPs fear data centre boom could derail Miliband's net zero plans

  12-02-2026 21:34 via bbc.com
  A senior Labour MP says emission from data centres "have been highlighted as a key area of concern".
  
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• China’s Yangtze River shows signs of remarkable recovery after fishing ban

  12-02-2026 20:00
  Doubling of fish biomass and rebounding of endangered species shows government measures starting to work, biologists sayThe Yangtze River in China, which has been in ecological decline for 70 years, is showing signs of recovery thanks to a sweeping fishing ban.The ban was made more effective by the implementation of “evolutionary game theory”, which included finding alternative employment for fishers. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump named ‘undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal’ by industry group

  12-02-2026 17:36
  Award was presented as president directed Pentagon to buy billions of dollars’ worth of energy from coal plantsUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump was crowned the “undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal” during a White House ceremony on Wednesday, during which the president received a trophy after ordering the US defense department to purchase billions of dollars’ worth of power from coal plants.The award was reportedly granted by the Washington Coal
  
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• ‘Not blind optimism’: why Coach’s designer is not giving up on sustainable fashion

  12-02-2026 15:50
  Stuart Vevers wants the luxury brand to keep championing upcycled materials and reduce landfill wasteStuart Vevers, the British designer of the American mass luxury brand Coach, is working to keep sustainability in the spotlight at New York fashion week. Not an easy task, when environmental concerns are slipping down the global agenda and fashion, perennially a mirror to the world we live in, has reverted to putting profits first.“I’m an optimist, but it’s not a blind optimism.
  
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• National security plans must adapt to avoid ‘new world disorder’, says UN climate chief

  12-02-2026 15:26
  Simon Stiell tells audience in Cop31 host nation Turkey that climate extremes are fuelling famine, displacement and warNational security strategies that fail to take account of the climate crisis are “dangerously narrow”, and will leave countries open to “a new world disorder” threatening famine and conflict, the UN’s climate chief has warned.The warnings came as a draft of a key agenda for the Cop31 climate conference omitted to mention fossil fuels, and skewed ins
  
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