Environment news

• Storage device writes information atom-by-atom

  18-07-2016 19:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The quest for storage devices that pack ever more information into a small space has reached a new limit, with memory that writes information atom-by-atom.
  
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• Rachel Reeves should scrap the North Sea windfall tax now

  04-03-2026 19:33 via theguardian.com
  The UK should optimise North Sea oil and gas production while it transfers to renewables and nuclear developmentsThe chancellor’s failure to reform or remove the energy profits levy (EPL) – aka the North Sea windfall tax – in her spring statement was a case of “political expediency and more to do with putting one byelection result ahead of the economic needs of the country”. Who said that? Some Tory or Reform politician being opportunist as war in Iran puts the UK&r
  
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• Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on the environment. Where’s the pushback?

  04-03-2026 17:56 via theguardian.com
  Climate deniers expected more resistance to the fossil fuel blitz. But Democrats, billionaires and activists have gone silentThis story is published in partnership with DeSmog, the climate investigations siteAs Donald Trump assaults the legal foundation of America’s ability to regulate global warming emissions, climate deniers have been privately celebrating what they claim is the “silent” acquiescence of billionaires, Democrats, climate activists and even reporters to the pres
  
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• Analysis finds urban areas in England where no one lives within 15-minute walk of nature

  04-03-2026 17:52 via theguardian.com
  Government says it is working to solve ‘postcode lottery’ of access to green or blue spacesThere are urban areas of England where no one lives within a 15-minute walk of nature, government data shows, as ministers scramble to meet their access to nature targets.While the data shows 80% of people live within walking distance of green or blue spaces such as a river, park or woodland, it also reveals a disparity between rural and poorer urban areas. Continue reading...
  
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• Global sea levels have been underestimated due to poor modelling, research suggests

  04-03-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Analysis shows average levels are 30cm higher than thought, and up to 150cm in south-east Asia and Indo-PacificSea levels around the world have been underestimated due to inaccurate modelling, with research suggesting ocean levels are far higher than previously understood.The finding could significantly affect assessments of the future impacts of global heating and the effects on coastal settlements. Continue reading...
  
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• Fever dream: Australia swelters through one of the hottest summers on record, with little relief at night

  04-03-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Data shows that some locations stayed well above 30C through the night during a heatwave in late JanuaryWant to get more charts in your inbox every fortnight? Sign up for The Crunch hereAustralia’s summer was one of the hottest since measurements began, with more than 60 weather stations recording their highest ever daily maximum temperatures during a heatwave in January.But it wasn’t just the days that were sweltering – Australia experienced the fifth-warmest summertime night
  
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• Relentless sun and ruthless populists: how the climate crisis will change the next 20 years

  04-03-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Former diplomat Arthur Snell says a heating planet is accelerating conflict and migration – and fostering a new age of empire. Democracies are dangerously unprepared, he warnsAfter a diplomatic career spent in the war zones of Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen, the last place Arthur Snell expected to cheat death was on holiday.But it was an uncomfortably close brush with a falling boulder while climbing in the Swiss Alps that helped to bring his personal and professional lives together. His belo
  
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• ‘A real dark situation to be in’: thousands of starving seabirds stranded in biggest ‘wreck’ in a decade

  04-03-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Puffins, guillemots, razorbills and terns are washing up on shores across Europe, after a string of storms affected their ability to find foodThe two puffins washed up among seaweed and bits of plastic on a beach in Newquay, Cornwall, on a damp February morning. Normally, these much-loved seabirds pull in crowds of tourists eager to see their courtship rituals, but these were rolling in the surf, dead. Most people walking past probably missed them.Their breast bones were sticking out, they had n
  
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• Glass deposit plan 'could push up prices for consumer'

  04-03-2026 13:48 via bbc.com
  Wales is the only UK nation planning to include glass in a deposit return scheme from October 2027.
  
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• Councillors scrap 2050 carbon neutral target

  04-03-2026 13:39 via bbc.com
  The Reform UK-led Lincolnshire County Council has agreed to scrap the net zero target.
  
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• World’s largest krill harvester at centre of row over ‘blue tick’ sustainability label

  04-03-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Aker QRILL is facing criticism of its fishery management amid calls by environmentalists for curbs on Antarctic fishing of the keystone speciesEnvironmental groups have objected to the recommendation of a “blue tick” sustainability label being awarded to a Norwegian krill fishing giant, amid concerns over concentrated fishing pressure and dramatic climate-driven effects on the Antarctic’s fragile ecosystem.Norway’s Aker QRILL, the world’s largest harvester of krill,
  
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• In pictures: Worm Moon captured over Northern Ireland

  04-03-2026 10:22 via bbc.com
  The first full Moon of the spring, a Worm Moon, was visible on Monday and Tuesday across Northern Ireland.
  
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• Specieswatch: is the world’s wildlife entering its ‘samey’ era?

  04-03-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Scientists are calling loss of biodiversity the ‘homogenocene’, where niche species are pushed out by generalists like pigeons and ratsPlants and animals are disappearing at an alarming rate across the planet, with some estimates suggesting a loss of up to 150 species every day. Meanwhile, the versatile species that thrive alongside humans, such as pigeons, rats and cockroaches, expand to fill the vacant gaps. Some scientists are calling this loss of biodiversity the “homogenoc
  
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• Protect caterpillars as UK’s moth population plummets, urge charities

  04-03-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Instead of removing plant-munching caterpillars, gardeners asked to take relaxed attitude to support the moths many of them grow intoAs spring unfolds and plants come to life, gardeners often fight a losing battle against the caterpillars who munch their cabbages.Traditionally, advice for gardeners regarding caterpillars would be about how to get rid of them and stop unsightly holes in plants. But the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and the Wildlife Trusts are asking Britons to take a relaxed
  
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• Country diary: This is the field where spring arrives first | Nicola Chester

  04-03-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Inkpen, West Berkshire: Its display of crocuses is the largest in the country, and it has a venerable history – but what kind of history, nobody quite knowsThere is a small boggy valley of old pasture at the centre of the village, a Wildlife Trust nature reserve that is remarkable for what has preserved it: a non-native flower more aligned with municipal parks.Inkpen crocus field is where spring happens first. A rare example of unimproved, unploughed meadow (the sort we’ve lost 97% o
  
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• Timelapse vision of rare blood moon lunar eclipse in New Zealand – video

  04-03-2026 03:01 via theguardian.com
  A rare total lunar eclipse on Tuesday night resulted in a spectacular blood moon, captured by Josh Aoraki from the Te Whatu Stardome in AucklandRed alert: the best photos of the rare blood moon total lunar eclipse – in pictures Continue reading...
  
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• Red alert: the best photos of the rare blood moon total lunar eclipse – in pictures

  04-03-2026 00:48 via theguardian.com
  A rare total lunar eclipse on Tuesday night resulted in a spectacular blood moon, seen first in Western Australia, then in parts of Asia, Europe and across North America. The next total eclipse will be New Year’s Eve 2028From sacred sisters to hyper-sexualised models: PhotoVogue festival – in pictures Continue reading...
  
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• The businesses that prioritise people and planet

  03-03-2026 18:16 via bbc.com
  Firms with B-Corp status want more companies to prioritise people and the planet as much as profits.
  
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• Global economy must stop pandering to ‘frivolous desires of ultra-rich’, says UN expert

  03-03-2026 15:11 via theguardian.com
  Olivier De Schutter says new economic agenda needed to tackle crises of rising inequality and ecological collapseThe global economy must be reordered to ensure it serves ordinary people around the world rather than the “frivolous and destructive demands of the ultra-rich”, according to a leading UN figure.Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, says politicians must stop prioritising “socially and ecologically destructive growth&rdquo
  
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• Wild-born birds recruited to teach critically endangered regent honeyeaters their lost songs

  03-03-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Researchers hope restoring the original song will improve breeding prospects for birds released into the wildGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastScientists have rescued the lost song of the critically endangered regent honeyeater – one of Australia’s rarest birds.Regent honeyeaters were once seen in vast flocks across south-eastern Australia, with a distribution that ranged from Queensland to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Continue reading...
  
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• New Scottish Dark Sky Observatory plans get the green light

  03-03-2026 13:09 via bbc.com
  The facility in Galloway will replace one which burned down in Ayrshire more than four years ago.
  
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• Showdown over datacenter politics at heart of North Carolina primary

  03-03-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Democratic rematch in Durham-area district draws focus to fight over AI datacenters increasingly shaping US electionsA North Carolina congressional primary on Tuesday is an early test of datacenter politics – a fight increasingly shaping elections nationwide.In the Durham-area fourth district, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee is seeking her third term against progressive challenger Nida Allam, a Durham county commissioner she defeated in 2022. Continue reading...
  
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• Historic harvests and sky-high prices – so why can’t Colombia’s coffee-growers hire pickers?

  03-03-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Though coffee is one of the world’s most important commodities, little of the profit trickles down to the farmers, while workers are abandoning the countryside in search of more lucrative jobs in the cityMary Luz Pérez Arrubla and her brother, Rodrigo, are fourth-generation farmers cultivating coffee on steep Andean slopes near the town of Líbano, in the rich agricultural region of Tolima. Along with the rest of Colombia, the family has enjoyed a historic harvest amid surging
  
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• Australia just experienced its wettest summer in nearly a decade – and the eighth-hottest on record

  03-03-2026 07:06 via theguardian.com
  South Australia saw most of the season’s wildest swings with January heatwaves followed by February floodsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThis summer ricocheted from extremely hot to intensely wet across parts of the country, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with South Australia experiencing some of the season’s most acute swings.Nationwide, the 2025-26 season was the wettest in nearly a decade, w
  
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• Country diary: To the old quarry, for a Triassic quest | Jennifer Jones

  03-03-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Storeton Wood, Wirral: Two centuries ago, this area teemed with workmen busying building Liverpool; more than 200m years ago very different creatures roamed hereAt last, the sun shone after weeks of rain. While the distant Welsh hills were draped in snow, here on the Wirral it was dry and bright. Storeton Wood is a secondary woodland of oak, beech and silver birch, and formerly a quarry. Below, a cuprous layer of leaf has protected the soil from the recent assault of raindrops. Fallen limbs were
  
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• Ferries emit ‘more sulphur pollution than cars’ in several EU capitals

  03-03-2026 00:01 via theguardian.com
  Dublin, Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn among port cities more choked by sulphur oxides from ferries, analysis showsFume-belching ferries spew more sulphur pollution than cars in several EU capitals, analysis has found.Dublin, Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn are among 13 of Europe’s 15 biggest port cities choked more by sulphur oxides (SOx) from ferries than road vehicles, data shared exclusively with the Guardian shows. Continue reading...
  
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• The greenest flags: virtue signals that help you find love – from patchwork clothes to car sharing

  02-03-2026 17:50 via theguardian.com
  A new survey shows 80% of gen Zs believe strong environmental values are as important as physical attraction when it comes to finding a partner (so you might want to start reusing your coffee cups)Name: Green flags.Age: This is a thing for younger people, so listen up, boomers. Continue reading...
  
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• UK slashes climate aid programmes for developing countries

  02-03-2026 17:37 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds to protect biodiversity and oceans likely to be substantially reducedUK programmes to protect nature and the climate in developing countries are suffering swingeing budget cuts despite ministers’ promises, the Guardian has learned.The cuts belie the government’s claims to be fulfilling international obligations on climate finance and are veiled behind a system that experts have criticised as opaque.The cutting and partial closur
  
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• Weather tracker: February temperature records broken in France and Spain

  02-03-2026 11:51 via theguardian.com
  Warmth was result of high pressure developing across central Europe, which brought southerly windsThe end of winter brought unseasonably high temperatures across much of Europe but particularly so in northern Spain and south-west France as numerous February temperatures records were broken.Cities across Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the Basque Country, including Bordeaux, Bilbao and San Sebastián, matched or exceeded their long-term February records, with temperatures of 27.1C and 27.6C recorded
  
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• ‘I love midges because I know what their hearts look like’: is the passion for taxonomy in danger of dying out?

  02-03-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Insect taxonomist Art Borkent has described and named more than 300 species of midges but fears his field of science is dying out, despite millions of insects, fungi and other organisms waiting to be discoveredOnce Art Borkent starts speaking about biting midges, he rarely pauses for breath. Holding up a picture of a gnat trapped in amber from the time of the dinosaurs, the 72-year-old taxonomist explains that there are more than 6,000 ceratopogonidae species known to science. He has described a
  
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