Category Archives: Pollution

Republicans complain to Canada over wildfire smoke despite supporting planet-heating bill

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Lawmakers send letter railing against ‘suffocating’ smoke days after voting for Trump plan likely to boost pollution

A group of Republican lawmakers has complained that smoke from Canadian wildfires is ruining summer for Americans, just days after voting for a major bill that will cause more of the planet-heating pollution that is worsening wildfires.

In a letter sent to Canada’s ambassador to the US, six Republican members of Congress wrote that wildfire smoke from Canada had been an issue for several years and recently their voters “have had to deal with suffocating Canadian wildfire smoke filling the air to begin the summer”.

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Some gut microbes can absorb and help expel ‘forever chemicals’ from the body, research shows

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Previously, the only way to reduce levels of Pfas was by bloodletting or a drug with unpleasant side effects

Certain kinds of gut microbes absorb toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” and help expel them from the body via feces, new first-of-its-kind University of Cambridge research shows.

The findings are welcome news as the only options that exist for reducing the level of dangerous Pfas compounds from the body are bloodletting and a cholesterol drug that induces unpleasant side effects.

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Noise pollution harms health of millions across Europe, report finds

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About 110 million people suffer stress and sleep disturbance that lead to tens of thousands of early deaths

More than 110 million people across Europe suffer high levels of health-damaging noise pollution, according to a report. The resulting physiological stress and sleep disturbance leads to 66,000 early deaths a year and many cases of heart disease, diabetes and depression.

The report, from the European Environment Agency (EEA), focuses on noise from cars, trains and aeroplanes and found that 20% of the population of the European Economic Area (EEA) were affected. Separate research, using a slightly lower threshold for dangerous noise pollution, found that 40% of the UK population were exposed to harmful transport noise.

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Dangerous pesticides and pet flea treatment detected in English rivers for first time

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Exclusive: Wensum and Tone found to have high concentrations of chemicals that are toxic to aquatic life

Dangerous modern pesticides used in agriculture and pet flea treatment have been detected for the first time in English rivers, research has found.

Scientists have called for stricter regulation around high-risk farming pesticides and flea treatments for pets because of the deadly effects they have on fish and other aquatic life when they make their way into rivers.

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Four former Volkswagen managers convicted of fraud in ‘dieselgate’ trial

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Braunschweig court gives two former executives prison sentences for roles in emissions test-cheating scandal

A German court has convicted four former Volkswagen managers of fraud and given two of them prison sentences for their part in the “dieselgate” emissions test-cheating scandal that erupted almost a decade ago.

The former head of development Heinz-Jakob Neusser received a suspended jail term of one year and three months from the court in the city of Braunschweig, according to the news agency Bloomberg.

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Bees face new threats from wars, street lights and microplastics, scientists warn

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University of Reading report says conflicts including war in Ukraine among 12 most pressing threats to pollinator

War zones, microplastics and street lights are among the emerging threats to the bee population, according to scientists.

Bee experts have drawn up a list of the 12 most pressing threats to the pollinator over the next decade, published in a report, Emerging Threats and Opportunities for Conservation of Global Pollinators, by the University of Reading.

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UK falling behind on tackling microplastic pollution, scientists say

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Researchers call for urgent action as fragments of plastic found in human brains and pollute food, water and air

The UK is falling behind on international efforts to tackle microplastics, scientists have said, as the pollutants continue to infiltrate food, ecosystems and human bodies.

The tiny fragments of plastic have been found in human testicles and brains, and they burrow into plants, inhibiting their ability to photosynthesise. The impact on human health is largely unknown, but they have been linked to strokes and heart attacks.

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Company supplying critical EV metal ‘did not disclose’ Erin Brockovich pollutant in drinking water

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Leaked documents indicate Harita, owner of key nickel mine in Indonesia, did not reveal water contamination

One of Indonesia’s largest nickel-mining companies, which supplies a mineral critical to the global electric car industry, did not tell the public that local drinking water was polluted, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

Indonesia has become the world’s biggest producer of nickel, used in the production of wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. But observers have voiced concerns that regulatory oversight in the country has failed to keep up with the rush to develop mines to satisfy booming global demand.

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More than 100 landfills in England may be leaching ‘highly hazardous’ waste

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Inadequate record keeping means councils do not know whether former waste sites contain toxic substances

More than 100 old landfills in England that may be contaminated with toxic substances have flooded since 2000, potentially posing a serious safety risk, it can be revealed.

Some of these former dumps containing possibly hazardous materials sit directly next to public parks and housing estates with hundreds of households, the analysis by the Greenpeace-funded journalism website Unearthed , in partnership with the Guardian, found.

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Public affairs firms in Europe enable pollution by lobbying for big oil, says analysis

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Exclusive: EU Transparency Register shows law firms also among lobbyists working for fossil fuel companies

A handful of “small but dirty” public affairs and law firms in Europe are enabling pollution by lobbying extensively for big oil, an analysis has found, with most major companies in the industry working for at least one fossil fuel client.

Several of the top spenders on activities to influence EU policymaking are on the payroll of oil and gas companies, according to an analysis of the EU Transparency Register by the Good Lobby nonprofit, but fossil fuel clients represent just 1% of the industry’s revenue.

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Grassroots activists who took on corruption and corporate power share 2025 Goldman prize

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Seven winners of environmental prize include Amazonian river campaigner and Tunisian who fought against organised waste trafficking

Grassroots activists who helped jail corrupt officials and obtain personhood rights for a sacred Amazonian river are among this year’s winners of the world’s most prestigious environmental prize.

The community campaigns led by the seven 2025 Goldman prize winners underscore the courage and tenacity of local activists willing to confront the toxic mix of corporate power, regulatory failures and political corruption that is fuelling biodiversity collapse, water shortages, deadly air pollution and the climate emergency.

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The great Mississippi tops list of most endangered rivers amid fears over Trump rollbacks

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Cuts to disaster agency and deregulation of fossil fuels, plus rise of water-guzzling datacentres, highlighted in new report

The Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to the federal climate disaster agency – and the full-throttle deregulation of fossil fuels and water-guzzling datacentres – could prove catastrophic for America’s endangered rivers, threatening the food, water and livelihoods of millions of people, according to a new report.

American Rivers’ annual most-endangered rivers list lays bare a myriad of human-made threats including floods, drought and other extreme weather events driven by the climate crisis, as well as industrial pollution and poor river management – all of which Trump’s regulatory rollbacks will almost inevitably make worse.

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Will global climate action be a casualty of Trump’s tariffs?

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Clean energy investors likely to pull back from US, but other countries may seize opportunity to speed transition

Donald Trump’s upending of the global economy has raised fears that climate action could emerge as a casualty of the trade war.

In the week that has followed “liberation day”, economic experts have warned that the swathe of tariffs could trigger a global economic recession, with far-reaching consequences for investors – including those behind the green energy projects needed to meet climate goals.

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Pet dogs have ‘extensive and multifarious’ impact on environment, new research finds

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Scale of environmental damage attributed to huge number of dogs globally as well as ‘lax or uninformed behaviour of dog owners’

Dogs have “extensive and multifarious” environmental impacts, disturbing wildlife, polluting waterways and contributing to carbon emissions, new research has found.

An Australian review of existing studies has argued that “the environmental impact of owned dogs is far greater, more insidious, and more concerning than is generally recognised”.

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Campaigners find sewage pollution and E coli in Boat Race water

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Tests ahead of Sunday’s race revealed E coli levels three times above the threshold for poor bathing water

Water quality along the stretch of the River Thames which will host the iconic Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has been classified as poor by clean water campaigners, as a result of E coli from sewage pollution.

Testing carried out along the four-mile route, which the university rowing teams will tackle on Sunday, has revealed E coli levels which are three times above the threshold for poor bathing water status.

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Jury orders Chevron to pay more than $744m for destroying Louisiana wetlands

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Verdict marks end of the first trial of 42 lawsuits filed about 12 years ago, alleging firm’s projects destroyed the regions

Chevron has been ordered to pay more than $744m in damages for destroying parts of south-east Louisiana’s coastal wetlands over the years.

The ruling, which came in the form of a civil jury verdict on Friday, marks the conclusion of the first trial among 42 lawsuits filed about 12 years earlier which alleged that the company’s oil and gas projects have led to the degradation of the region’s wetlands. Among other things, the wetlands play a key role in offering the area a measure of protection from hurricanes.

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Environment watchdog confirms Sydney’s mystery beach balls likely came from sewage treatment plants

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NSW EPA investigation finds debris that washed up on Sydney beaches in 2024 ‘consistent with a land-based sewage source’

Authorities investigating mystery balls of debris that closed beaches in Sydney and the south coast in recent months have determined that they likely originated from Sydney Water’s land-based sewage treatment network, the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) said on Friday.

“The development comes after a comprehensive scientific and technical investigation found similarities between the makeup of the debris balls and samples taken from several of Sydney Water’s major wastewater treatment plants, including those at Malabar and Bondi,” the EPA said in a statement.

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Cadia goldmine operators fined $350,000 for breaches of NSW clean-air laws

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Testing had previously revealed the mine was emitting more than 11 times the legal limit of dust containing heavy metals

The operators of Cadia goldmine have been ordered to pay $350,000 in fines and convicted of three offences after a prosecution by the New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority.

Cadia Holdings Limited, trading as Cadia Valley Operations, pleaded guilty to three offences under the environmental protection act relating to breaches of clean air regulations at the mine in central west NSW.

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Trump’s environmental rule-shredding will put lives at risk, ex-EPA heads say

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Former agency leaders, including two Republicans, say rollbacks by Lee Zeldin could cause ‘severe harms’

Three former Environmental Protection Agency leaders sounded an alarm on Friday, saying rollbacks proposed by the EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin, endanger the lives of millions of Americans and abandon the agency’s dual mission to protect the environment and human health.

Zeldin said on Wednesday he planned to roll back 31 key environmental rules on everything from clean air to clean water and climate change. The former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy called Zeldin’s announcement “the most disastrous day in EPA history”.

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‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation

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The Loess plateau was the most eroded place on Earth until China took action and reversed decades of damage from grazing and farming

It was one of China’s most ambitious environmental endeavours ever.

The Loess plateau, an area spanning more than 245,000 sq miles (640,000 sq km) across three provinces and parts of four others, supports about 100 million people. By the end of the 20th century, however, this land, once fertile and productive, was considered the most eroded place on Earth, according to a documentary by the ecologist John D Liu.

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