Environment news

• No more blackouts?

  09-11-2017 14:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Today, more than 1.3 billion people are living without regular access to power, including more than 300 million in India and 600 million in sub-Saharan Africa. In these and other developing countries, access to a main power grid, particularly in rural regions, is remote and often unreliable.Increasingly, many rural and some urban communities are turning to microgrids as an alternative source of electricity. Microgrids are small-scale power systems that supply local energy, typically in the form
  
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• Blind, slow and 500 years old – or are they? How scientists are unravelling the secrets of Greenland sharks

  22-01-2026 11:00
  Described by one researcher as looking ‘already dead’, the enigmatic creatures are one of the least understood species on the planetIt looks more like a worn sock than a fearsome predator. It moves slower than an escalator. By most accounts, it is a clumsy and near-sightless relic drifting in the twilight waters of the Arctic, lazily searching for food scraps.But the Greenland shark, an animal one researcher (lovingly) said, “looks like it’s already dead”, is also o
  
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• What happens when the taps run dry? England is about to find out | Aditya Chakrabortty

  22-01-2026 07:00
  It’s not just Tunbridge Wells – a country famous around the world for its rain is in danger of self-imposed droughtYou get up and go to the loo, only to find the flush doesn’t work. You try the shower, except nothing comes out. You want a glass of water, but on turning the tap there is not a drop. Your day stumbles on, stripped of its essentials: no washing hands, no cleaning up the baby, neither tea nor coffee, no easy way to do the dishes or the laundry. Dirt accumulates; tem
  
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• Schools, airports, high-rise towers: architects urged to get ‘bamboo-ready’

  22-01-2026 07:00
  Manual for building design aims to encourage low-carbon construction as alternative to steel and concreteAn airport made of bamboo? A tower reaching 20 metres high? For many years, bamboo has been mostly known as the favourite food of giant pandas, but a group of engineers say it’s time we took it seriously as a building material, too.This week the Institution of Structural Engineers called for architects to be “bamboo-ready” as they published a manual for designing permanent b
  
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• Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas, analysis finds

  22-01-2026 07:00
  Exclusive: Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro among worst affected, with demand close to exceeding supplyHalf the world’s 100 largest cities are experiencing high levels of water stress, with 39 of these sitting in regions of “extremely high water stress”, new analysis and mapping has shown.Water stress means that water withdrawals for public water supply and industry are close to exceeding available supplies, often caused by poor management of water resources exace
  
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• Country diary: Meet the kelo tree – dead, but refusing to fall | Paul Evans

  22-01-2026 06:30
  The Marches, Shropshire: Without its bark, this Scots pine’s life cycle has slowed, allowing it to stand tall in death for hundreds of years“The clown passeth by thee and heedeth thee not, / But thou’rt a warm source of reflection for me” wrote John Clare in To a Dead Tree. This clown has passeth an old dead tree in Attingham Park – at Atcham, near Shrewsbury – many times without much heedeth, but today, warmed by bright sunlight after weeks of cold weather, i
  
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• Wind and solar overtook fossil fuels for EU power generation in 2025, report finds

  22-01-2026 00:01
  Researchers say event described as ‘major tipping point’ for clean energy in era of destabilised politicsWind and solar overtook fossil fuels in the European Union’s power generation last year, a report has found, in a “major tipping point” for clean energy.Turbines spinning in the wind and photovoltaic panels lit up by the sun generated 30% of the EU’s electricity in 2025, according to an annual review. Power plants burning coal, oil and gas generated 29%. Co
  
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• Green spaces should be the norm for all new housing developments in England, guidelines say

  21-01-2026 19:23
  Experts say big flaw is the lack of mandatory requirements, meaning developers could ignore the guidanceHousing where shops, schools, public transport and possibly pubs are close by, with green spaces and access to nature, and where heritage is preserved, should be the norm for all new developments, according to guidelines set out by the government.King’s Cross in London, for example, where industrial buildings have been converted into shops, restaurants and public spaces, and where school
  
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• Scientific rigour and the dangers of microplastics | Letters

  21-01-2026 18:49
  Joe Yates, Prof Philip J Landrigan, Prof Jennifer Kirwan and Prof Jamie Davies respond to an article on doubts raised about studies on microplastics in the human bodyWhile it may be a belated Christmas present for the petrochemical industry, your article (‘A bombshell’: doubt cast on discovery of microplastics throughout human body, 13 January) was less surprising to the scientific community, where constructive debate around microplastic detection in humans has been ongoing for some
  
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• Oldest cave painting of red claw hand could rewrite human creativity timeline

  21-01-2026 17:00 via bbc.com
  A stencilled outline of a hand found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is the world's oldest known cave painting, researchers say.
  
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• Nature loss is a national security risk, intelligence group warns

  21-01-2026 16:08 via bbc.com
  The degradation of ecosystems around the world threatens UK food security, a long-awaited report says.
  
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• Why are British people so obsessed with bins? | Polly Hudson

  21-01-2026 12:00
  Our nation’s fascination with rubbish knows no bounds – as was proved by one recent online debateEven if you’ve never been anywhere near it, the Mumsnet message board is legendary. Since it launched in 2000, it has changed the vernacular – “am I being unreasonable?” is not just a question, it’s a shorthand for the type of person who asks it – and introduced us to the penis beaker (one maverick husband’s postcoital hygiene regime, made infamou
  
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• Toby Carvery owner faces eviction from north London site for felling ancient oak

  21-01-2026 11:25
  Felling of 500-year-old oak has provoked fury from public and Enfield council, which leases land to Mitchells & ButlersThe restaurant chain Toby Carvery is facing eviction from one of its sites after taking a chainsaw to an ancient oak tree without the permission of its council landlord.The partial felling last April of the 500-year-old oak on the edge of a Toby Carvery car park in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, provoked widespread public dismay and fury from Enfield council, which leases the lan
  
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• ‘Every time I look at one, I smile!’: how axolotls took over the world

  21-01-2026 11:00
  Our passion for these cute-looking salamanders means they are everywhere – except in the wild, where the species is under increasing threatAxolotls are the new llamas. Which were, of course, the new unicorns. Which triggered a moment for narwhals. If you are an unusual-looking animal, this is your time. Even humans who have never seen an axolotl – a type of salamander – in the smooth and slimy flesh will have met a cartoon or cuddly one. Mexican axolotls have the kind of look t
  
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• UK homes to get £15bn for solar and green tech to cut energy bills

  21-01-2026 10:00 via bbc.com
  The government has announced the details of its long-awaited Warm Homes Plan which promises to cut energy bills.
  
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• Plantwatch: Neighbouring plants warn each other about incoming stress

  21-01-2026 07:00
  A study of Arabidopsis thaliana plants found that plants growing together activated genes to protect themselves, while isolated plants did notPlants growing close to each other can warn each other about stresses in their lives.Thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants were grown on their own or crowded so close together they were touching each other. When all the plants were then stressed with intense light, the isolated plants suffered severe damage, but the crowds of plants were able to cope w
  
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• Half of world’s CO2 emissions come from just 32 fossil fuel firms, study shows

  21-01-2026 07:00
  Critics accuse leading firms of sabotaging climate action but say data increasingly being used to hold them to accountJust 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half the global carbon dioxide emissions driving the climate crisis in 2024, down from 36 a year earlier, a report has revealed.Saudi Aramco was the biggest state-controlled polluter and ExxonMobil was the largest investor-owned polluter. Critics accused the leading fossil fuel companies of “sabotaging climate action”
  
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• Country diary: I see 38 bird species in a day – but does it matter? | Richard Smyth

  21-01-2026 06:30
  Swillington Ings, West Yorkshire: I’m counting, but not counting. The highlight, though, has to be those those gentleman thugs, the greater black-backed gullsLast week, three guys I know took a winter walk around this patch of water, wetland and waterside scrub, and saw 84 bird species. I’m going to write that out in full, like they used to on the football results when someone notched up an improbable score: eighty-four. Most people would be hard-pressed to name 84 bird spe
  
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• Judi Dench backs campaign to protect London’s green spaces from developers

  21-01-2026 01:01
  Actor says it is ‘more important than ever’ to safeguard city’s parks as report finds more than 50 are at riskDame Judi Dench has called for greater protections for London’s parks and green spaces, as research finds more than 50 of the city’s parks are at risk from development.The Oscar-winning actor has long loved trees, and in 2017 fronted a BBC documentary about her love for them. She plants a tree every time a close friend or relative dies, including for her lat
  
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• No ban on gas boilers in UK warm homes plan but heat pumps get £2.7bn push

  20-01-2026 23:30
  Government opts against phasing out new boilers by 2035 in effort to cut energy bills by as much as £1,000 a yearAnalysis: Labour’s warm homes plan is all carrot and no stick for UK householdsThere will be no phaseout date for gas boilers in the government’s warm homes plan despite its pledge to wean the UK off fossil fuels, but billions of pounds will go towards heat pumps and insulation upgrades.Labour’s principal attempt to solve the UK’s cost of living crisis, t
  
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• Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn

  20-01-2026 20:03
  Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being feltThe global attack on nature is threatening the UK’s national security, government intelligence chiefs have warned, as the increasingly likely collapse of vitally important natural systems would bring mass migration, food shortages and price rises, and global disorder.Food supplies are particularly at risk since “without significant increases” the UK would be unable to
  
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• Era of ‘global water bankruptcy’ is here, UN report says

  20-01-2026 19:00
  Overuse and pollution must end urgently as no one knows when whole system might collapse, says expertThe world has entered an era of “global water bankruptcy” that is harming billions of people, a UN report has declared.The overuse and pollution of water must be tackled urgently, the report’s lead author said, because no one knew when the whole system could collapse, with implications for peace and social cohesion. Continue reading...
  
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• Water winners: who will gain from the industry’s spending spree in England and Wales?

  20-01-2026 16:34
  As Labour shakes up regulation, suppliers are finally investing – but face problems such as contractor shortages and inflationWater firms could be let off pollution fines as part of government overhaulWhen a sluice gate failed 24 metres below the water’s surface at Thames Water’s Queen Mother reservoir near London’s Heathrow airport, there were no easy fixes available. Emptying 37m cubic metres (1,307m cu ft) of water was not an option, meaning that helmeted divers were l
  
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• Cow astonishes scientists with rare use of tools

  20-01-2026 15:54 via bbc.com
  The discovery suggests cows may have far greater cognitive abilities than previously assumed.
  
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• Huge amounts of extra land needed for RFK Jr’s meat-heavy diet guidelines

  20-01-2026 13:30
  Even 25% increase in meat and dairy consumption would require 100m more acres of agricultural land, analysis saysThe Trump administration’s new dietary guidelines urging Americans to eat far more meat and dairy products will, if followed, come at a major cost to the planet via huge swathes of habitat razed for farmland and millions of tons of extra planet-heating emissions.A new inverted food pyramid recently released by Donald Trump’s health department emphasizes pictures of steak,
  
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• Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand’s shores?

  20-01-2026 12:03
  The Andaman coast was one of very few places in the world with a viable population but then dead dugongs began washing up. Now half have goneA solitary figure stands on the shore of Thailand’s Tang Khen Bay. The tide is slowly rising over the expanse of sandy beach, but the man does not seem to notice. His eyes are not fixed on the sea, but on the small screen clutched between his hands.About 600 metres offshore, past the shadowy fringe of coral reef, his drone hovers over the murky sea, f
  
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• The influencer racing to save Thailand’s most endangered sea mammal

  20-01-2026 11:58
  Amateur conservationist and social media influencer Theerasak ‘Pop’ Saksritawee has a rare bond with Thailand’s critically endangered dugongs. With dugong fatalities increasing, Pop works alongside scientists at Phuket Marine Biological Centre to track the mammals with his drone and restore their disappearing seagrass habitat. Translating complex science for thousands online, Pop raises an urgent alarm about climate change, pollution and habitat loss — before Thailand&rsq
  
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• Water companies to face regular MOT-style checks in industry shake-up

  20-01-2026 10:43 via bbc.com
  The government says the industry will have "nowhere to hide", but campaigners say the reforms do not go far enough.
  
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• Why have there been so many shark bites in Sydney? Experts say the conditions are a ‘perfect storm’

  20-01-2026 09:23
  Intense rainfall has caused the water to go murky in some areas, making them attractive spots for fish and sharks to feedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFour people have been attacked by sharks in New South Wales in 48 hours, including three incidents at Sydney beaches.Any shark bite incident is traumatic and Sydney swimmers have been warned to stay out of the water. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: Is the willow Britain’s finest tree? In one sense, it is | Mark Cocker

  20-01-2026 06:30
  Buxton, Derbyshire: Others are taller, wider, older, but our varied stock of willows have a generosity that sets them apartUsually in this country when we think about important trees, we focus on height, girth, age, visual impact – in short, their material properties. Few therefore would probably name willow as a number one British species.Willows often have no central trunk as in our archetypal tree model, and few specimens are more than 7 metres tall. Yet there is a sphere in which willo
  
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