Environment news

• Restless mountains

  19-04-2017 23:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  European satellites will routinely map every land volcano on Earth, looking for early eruption signs.
  
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• Airlines should tell UK customers the carbon impact of flights, watchdog says

  05-02-2026 17:05
  CAA’s guidance also including booking sites aims to enable passengers to make ‘more informed travel decisions’Airlines and booking firms should give UK customers information about the environmental impact of their flights, the regulator has said.The Civil Aviation Authority urged booking sites to enable passengers to make “more informed travel decisions” by setting out estimates for carbon emissions for flights landing or taking off from British airports. Continue r
  
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• Postcard-pretty … and filled with pollution: how Brazil’s fishers are reviving Rio de Janeiro’s famous bay

  05-02-2026 15:00
  A mangrove conservation project in Guanabara Bay has shown how a dying ecosystem can be transformed into a thriving sanctuaryWith deep blue waters flanked by dramatic peaks, Guanabara Bay is the postcard view of Rio de Janeiro – but it is also one of Brazil’s most polluted coastal environments. Raw sewage and solid waste flow into the bay from surrounding cities, home to more than 8 million people. Cargo ships and oil platforms chug in and out of commercial ports, while dozens of aba
  
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• Anger over Scottish salmon farm inspections amid 35m unexpected fish deaths

  05-02-2026 14:43
  Animal Equality says two surprise inspections in three years suggests ‘embarrassingly poor’ level of scrutinyScottish salmon farmers recorded more than 35m unexpected salmon deaths in just under three years but there were only two unannounced inspections of facilities over the same period.In December, the Scottish government’s secretary for rural affairs, Mairi Gougeon, said that there was “a really robust regulatory regime when it comes to fin-fish aquaculture” but
  
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• What are critical minerals and why do countries need them?

  05-02-2026 14:22 via bbc.com
  Countries are racing to secure the critical minerals and rare earths needed to make vital products.
  
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• ‘We can learn from the old’: how architects are returning to the earth to build homes for the future

  05-02-2026 14:00
  Rammed earth sourced from, or near, the grounds of a proposed building site is attracting attention as an eco-friendly construction materialFrom afar, the low-rise homestead perched in the Wiltshire countryside may look like any other rural outpost, but step closer and the texture of the walls reveal something distinct from the usual facade of cement, brick and steel.The Rammed Earth House in Cranborne Chase is one of the few projects in the UK that has been made by unstabilised rammed earth &nd
  
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• UK's £8bn research fund faces 'hard decisions' as it pauses new grants

  05-02-2026 13:00 via bbc.com
  UKRI boss Ian Chapman said it had been told by the government to "focus and do fewer things better".
  
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• ‘Hope and relief’ as seaside town’s last youth centre saved

  05-02-2026 12:00
  Charity praises effort to stop Ramsgate’s Pie Factory Music closing but calls for more youth services in coastal townsThe last remaining youth centre in one of England’s most deprived coastal places has been saved from being sold after a long campaign by the charity that has for 13 years called it home.In November the Guardian revealed how the centre in Ramsgate on the Kent coast was facing being auctioned off by Kent county council, despite an independent report that estimated the c
  
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• Fumes, rats and maggots: peer urges Environment Agency to clear illegal dump in Wigan

  05-02-2026 10:13
  Shas Sheehan challenges refusal to remove 25,000 tonnes of waste causing ‘grave environmental hazard’ near schoolA 25,000-tonne illegal waste dump next to a primary school in Wigan presents “a grave environmental hazard” and should be cleared, the chair of the Lords environment committee has told the government.Shas Sheehan challenged the refusal of the Environment Agency to clean up an illegal waste dump in Bolton House Road in the Greater Manchester town, given the agen
  
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• The Green surge shows British politics has reached a turning point - and it has surprisingly little to do with Zack Polanski | Aditya Chakrabortty

  05-02-2026 07:00
  At a party event in a school hall in Lewisham, people told me how disillusionment with Labour has led to this moment“How many?”On the end of the phone is a nice press officer for the Greens, head full from a long day in Gorton, Manchester, showing off their would-be MP. And now, as Friday’s sky turns indigo, I’m calling about reports from Lewisham, south London, that tomorrow they’re expecting a flood of 500 Green activists. This comes as a surprise to the party&rsq
  
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• Country diary: There’s a seaweed party going on on the storm beach | Tim Earl

  05-02-2026 06:30
  Castletown Bay, Isle of Man: The smell is unpleasant, but these slimy mounds are full of flies, molluscs and sand hoppers – all vital winter foodMy British Trust for Ornithology wetland bird survey includes patrolling a storm beach, which, at this time of year, has huge piles of rotting wrack thrown up by the gales. They’re made up of hand-like fronds of laminaria, bladderwrack with its buoyant bubble vesicles, sugar kelp and the long “washing line” strands of non-native
  
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• ‘Everything is quagga mussel now’: can invasive species be stopped? – podcast

  05-02-2026 06:00
  On a recent trip to Lake Geneva in Switzerland, biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston witnessed the impact of one of the planet’s most potent invasive species, the quagga mussel. In just a decade the mollusc, originally from the Ponto-Caspian region of the Black Sea, has caused irreversible change beneath the surface of the picturesque lake. While ecologists believe invasive species play a major role in more than 60% of plant and animal extinctions, stopping them in their tracks is almost im
  
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• Green energy sector drove more than 90% of China’s investment growth last year, analysis finds

  05-02-2026 01:01
  Industry bigger than all but seven world economies, and accounts for more than third of China’s economic growthChina’s clean energy industries drove more than 90% of the country’s investment growth last year, making the sectors bigger than all but seven of the world’s economies, a new analysis has shown.For the second time in three years, the report showed the manufacture, installation and export of batteries, electric cars, solar, wind and related technologies accounted
  
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• Flawed economic models mean climate crisis could crash global economy, experts warn

  05-02-2026 01:01
  States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points Flawed economic models mean the accelerating impact of the climate crisis could lead to a global financial crash, experts warn.Recovery would be far harder than after the 2008 financial crash, they said, as “we can’t bail out the Earth like we did the banks”. Continue reading...
  
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• IOC must 'be better' on climate change - Coventry

  04-02-2026 21:34 via bbc.com
  International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry says it must "be better" on climate change after receiving a petition signed by more than 21,000 people who want to stop fossil fuel companies from sponsoring winter sports.
  
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• John Barkham obituary

  04-02-2026 17:31
  My dad, John Barkham, who has died aged 82, was an inspirational teacher of ecology and a lifelong naturalist. As the first ecologist to join the new University of East Anglia in 1969, he taught students over three decades in the pioneering School of Environmental Sciences.After studying the person-centred theories of Carl Rogers, whom he visited in California, John experimented with bold new teaching techniques, one year informing baffled students that they would design their own syllabus and t
  
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• Vast seagrass meadows will shield coastline

  04-02-2026 08:43 via bbc.com
  Trials to restore the saltwater plant to the Humber Estuary are hugely encouraging, experts say.
  
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• Wildlife photographer of the year – people’s choice 2026

  04-02-2026 08:00
  A shortlist of 24 images has been selected for the wildlife photographer of the year people’s choice award. You can vote for your favourite image online. The winner will be announced on 25 March and shown from that date as part of the overall wildlife photographer of the year exhibition, which runs until 12 July at the Natural History Museum in London Continue reading...
  
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• Feeling chirpy: how listening to birdsong can boost your wellbeing

  04-02-2026 07:00
  Paying attention to the calls of our avian neighbours can reduce stress, find scientists in GermanyFeeling stressed? Try a dose of birdsong to lift the spirits. A new study shows that paying attention to the treetop melodies of our feathered friends can boost wellbeing and bring down stress levels.Previous research has shown that people feel better in bird-rich environments, but Christoph Randler, from the University of Tübingen, and colleagues wanted to see if that warm fuzzy feeling trans
  
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• Country diary: Hay stocks are running low – this is the long tail of last year’s drought | Nicola Chester

  04-02-2026 06:30
  Inkpen, Berkshire: We’re paying the price now for a poor grass harvest, and the concern is isn’t a one-off bad yearAt this point in the year, when the growing season seems so far away, last summer’s hay harvest is most remembered, sometimes rued. The hottest summer followed the driest spring in over 100 years in southern England. And although making hay while the sun shines is genuinely crucial, rain is critical to growth. Last year produced a very poor harvest,
  
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• ‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university?

  04-02-2026 06:00
  When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degreesThe seaside city of Southend-on-Sea, on England’s east coast, looks grey on a winter afternoon in term-time. Its cobbled high street, bordering the university campus, is sparsely populated with market stalls, vape shops and discount retailers, and feels unusually quiet.&ld
  
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• The lithium boom: could a disused quarry bring riches to Cornwall?

  03-02-2026 17:08
  Known as ‘white gold’, lithium is among the most important mined elements on the planet – ideal for the rechargeable batteries used in tech products. Can Europe’s largest deposit bring prosperity to the local community?It looks more like the past than the future. A vast chasm scooped out of a scarred landscape, this is a Cornwall the summer holidaymakers don’t see: a former china clay pit near St Austell called Trelavour. I’m standing at the edge of the pit lo
  
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• Here’s why US household energy bills are soaring – and how to fix it | Mark Wolfe

  03-02-2026 16:00
  Trump has prioritized fossil fuel companies over consumers, hitting the lowest-income families hardestDonald Trump promised to cut energy prices by 50%. Instead, average electricity prices over the past year have risen by about 6.7%, while natural gas prices have increased by 10.8%. Energy prices are influenced by many factors beyond any president’s direct control, including market conditions, weather-driven demand, regional infrastructure constraints, and the rapid growth of energy-intens
  
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• The blight of sewage pollution tackled in water shake-up

  03-02-2026 15:19 via bbc.com
  A major review called for oversight of water companies in Wales and England to be overhauled.
  
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• Landslides on one side, floods on the other: the Costa Rican village desperate to escape the climate crisis

  03-02-2026 15:00
  With government action stalled and living in ‘inhumane’ conditions, families in San José are making plans to relocateIn Emilio Peña Delgado’s home, several photos hang on the wall. One shows him standing in front of a statue with his wife and oldest son in the centre of San José and smiling. In another, his two sons sit in front of caricatures from the film Cars. For him, the photos capture moments of joy that feel distant when he returns home to La Carpio,
  
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• Up to half of coarse sediments on UK urban beaches may be human-made, study suggests

  03-02-2026 14:56
  Researchers say waste dumping and climate breakdown have contributed to rise in brick, concrete and glass on beachesAs much as half of some British beaches’ coarse sediments may consist of human-made materials such as brick, concrete, glass and industrial waste, a study has suggested.Climate breakdown, which has caused more frequent and destructive coastal storms, has led to an increase in these substances on beaches. Six sites on the Firth of Forth, an estuary on Scotland’s east coa
  
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• Human-made materials make up as much as half of UK beaches, study finds

  03-02-2026 14:56
  Researchers say sediment changes due to waste dumping and coastal erosion intensified by climate breakdownAs much as half of some British beaches’ coarse sediments consist of human-made materials such as brick, concrete, glass and industrial waste, a study has found.Climate breakdown, which has caused more frequent and destructive coastal storms, has led to an increase in these substances on beaches. Six sites on the Firth of Forth, an estuary on Scotland’s east coast joining the Riv
  
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• Human-made materials found in up to half of some UK urban beaches’ coarse sediments

  03-02-2026 14:56
  Researchers say changes to make-up of coarse sediment are due to waste dumping and climate breakdownAs much as half of some British beaches’ coarse sediments consist of human-made materials such as brick, concrete, glass and industrial waste, a study has found.Climate breakdown, which has caused more frequent and destructive coastal storms, has led to an increase in these substances on beaches. Six sites on the Firth of Forth, an estuary on Scotland’s east coast joining the River For
  
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• Plan to allow fishing around Chagos Islands alarms conservationists

  03-02-2026 13:08
  Chagossian people would be allowed to fish in area that has teemed with life since ban was introduced in 2010One of the most precious marine reserves in the world, home to sharks, turtles and rare tropical fish, will be opened to some fishing for the first time in 16 years under the UK government’s deal to hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.Allowing non-commercial fishing in the marine protected area (MPA) is seen as an essential part of the Chagossian people’s return to the i
  
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• Environmentalists decry ‘crushingly disappointing’ Pfas action plan for UK

  03-02-2026 08:56
  Ministers’ proposals to tackle ‘forever chemicals’ fail to match tougher stance taken in Europe, say expertsEnvironmental campaigners have criticised a “crushingly disappointing” UK government plan to tackle “forever chemicals”, which they warn risks locking in decades of avoidable harm to people and the environment.The government said its Pfas action plan set out a “clear framework” of “coordinated action … to understand where t
  
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