Category Archives: Environment

Weather tracker: Cyclone Freddy brings torrential rain to parts of Africa

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Downpours lash Mozambique and Zimbabwe – meanwhile, unseasonably high and low temperatures hit east and west US

The remnants of Tropical Cyclone Freddy continue to wreak havoc in parts of south-east Africa. Originally forming as a disturbance embedded within a monsoon trough on 5 February, the system continues to bring torrential rain. However, it is no longer classed as a tropical cyclone, with sustained wind speeds now well below 74mph.

Having spent three weeks moving westwards across the entire Indian Ocean before affecting Mauritius, Réunion and Madagascar, Freddy made landfall in Mozambique on 24 February, bringing sustained winds of 50mph.

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Vast national park to be created and native animals protected after NSW government land purchase

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Dominic Perrottet lauds tourism benefits of buying 440,000 hectare site Thurloo Downs in state’s north-west

Habitat for more than 50 threatened species will be preserved as part of a new land acquisition by the New South Wales government that will become the state’s third-largest national park.

The 437,394 hectare site, which is called Thurloo Downs and is about 250 kilometres from Bourke in the state’s north-west, contains globally significant arid zone wetlands, as well as salt lakes, playas and other geological formations that are unprotected elsewhere in NSW.

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China approves biggest expansion in new coal power plants since 2015, report finds

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Concerns about energy shortages drive increase as projects progress at ‘extraordinary’ speed

China approved the construction of another 106 gigawatts of coal-fired power capacity last year, four times higher than a year earlier and the highest since 2015, research shows.

Over the year, 50GW of coal power capacity went into construction across the country – up by more than half compared with the previous year – driven by energy security considerations, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said on Monday.

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‘It’s a bit too castle-y’: plans to turn Cumbrian fortress into eco-attraction

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Young ‘custodian’ hopes to make ancestral home of Muncaster first carbon-zero castle in UK

In 1990, the year Ewan Frost-Pennington was born, the final bears left Muncaster Castle in the westernmost corner of the Lake District. Winnie, an Asiatic black bear, departed Cumbria for Dudley zoo, along with Inca, her daughter, and her sister, Gretel.

Three decades later, the bear pit has now been covered over with a solar farm. It is the brainchild of Frost-Pennington, the heir to the 800-year-old pink granite fortress, as he tries to make Muncaster the first carbon-zero castle in the UK.

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Red states leading the US in solar and wind production, new report shows

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Country’s capacity to generate renewable energy shot up last year, producing enough electricity to power 64m households

A new report by Climate Central shows how US capacity to generate renewable energy shot up last year – and surprisingly, red states lead the nation in solar and wind power production.

National wind and solar capacity grew 16% compared to 2021. All told, renewables generated enough electricity to power 64m American households. The report comes as the Biden administration starts to make billions of dollars available for renewable energy projects. The administration has committed to decarbonizing the grid completely by 2030 and getting the US to net zero emissions by mid-century.

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Ohio rail crash: toxic waste removal suspended amid contamination fears

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Environmental Protection Agency orders rail company to ‘pause’ shipments from site pending a review of plans to dispose of waste near Houston and Detroit

Federal environmental authorities have ordered a temporary halt in the shipment of contaminated waste from the site of the train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month, amid fears of further harm from the toxic waste.

Hazardous waste disposal facilities near Houston and Detroit are planning to receive most of the contaminated water and soil from the East Palestine train wreck site, raising the risk that some of the dangerous chemicals could end up in the environment elsewhere.

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‘Be vigilant, hold your ground’: Erin Brockovich rallies Ohio town after train disaster

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Celebrated whistleblower and activist assures residents of East Palestine they are not alone, but also that a long road lies ahead

Every seat was taken in the East Palestine high school auditorium on Friday night as America’s most famous environmentalist took to the stage to address a community left traumatised, angry and confused by a railroad disaster that has upended their sleepy little town.

“Good evening, thank you for being here. My name is Erin Brockovich, not Julia Roberts,” she said, triggering a collective roar of laughter.

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Corruption watchdog warned NSW government of risks around plan to fast-track rezoning of land for housing

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Independent Commission Against Corruption warned ‘a favourable rezoning’ of large swathes on Sydney’s fringes could deliver windfall to developers

The New South Wales corruption watchdog advised the state’s department of planning that its decision to fast-track large areas of land for rezoning for new housing carried with it a number of risks, Guardian Australia can reveal.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption warned that “a favourable rezoning” under the plan to rezone large swathes of land on Sydney’s fringes “could deliver a significant windfall to an applicant” and that this could prompt applicants to attempt “various lobbying techniques”, including “direct approaches to the minister”, and “using or cultivating personal contacts” within the department.

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Canadian minister calls for emergency order to save country’s last spotted owls

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Steven Guilbeault wants to block logging of critical old-growth forest to prevent owls from going extinct in British Columbia

Canada’s environment minister plans to use a rare emergency order to protect the last of an endangered owl species in an area where critical old-growth forest is slated for further clearcutting.

Steven Guilbeault advised the environmental groups Ecojustice and the Wilderness Committee that he believed the spotted owl was facing “imminent threats to its survival” and he would use the powers to block further destruction of its habitat in British Columbia, the groups announced on Thursday afternoon.

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Apples and pears could be next UK food shortage, farmers warn

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Growers say they do not get paid enough by supermarkets, as supply of leeks also comes under threat

Apples and pears could be the next food shortage in the UK, after it emerged that British growers are planting just a third of the number of trees needed to maintain orchards, saying their returns from selling to supermarkets are unsustainable.

Ali Capper, head of the British Apples & Pears trade association which represents about 80% of the industry in the UK, said 1m new trees would have to be planted each year to maintain the UK’s 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) of production.

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All fish tested from Michigan rivers contain ‘forever chemicals’, study finds

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Researchers found PFAS chemicals – used to make products resistant to heat and water – in all samples of 12 species of fish

All fish caught in Michigan rivers and tested for toxic PFAS contained the chemicals – and at levels that present a health risk for anyone eating them, according to a new study.

Researchers checked 100 fish samples that represented 12 species in the Huron and Rouge rivers.

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Weather tracker: record-breaking heat in Australia

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Australia swelters while in Brazil there have been record downpours

Southern Australia has recorded significant heat over the past week with maximum temperatures widely reaching in excess of 35C (95F), as well as more than 10C above the climatological average. Many stations in the south, across Western Australia and South Australia, recorded temperatures in excess of 40C with Eucla and Red Rock Points recording their highest February temperature of 46.8C on 22 February. Two large blocking high pressure systems south and west of Australia have allowed heat to stall across western and southern parts. This will be pushed further eastwards through this week, although lessening in severity.

In addition to this, many parts of the west coast have had high sea surface temperature anomalies throughout February, about 1-2C above normal. Because of this there is a chance that further cyclogenesis off the north-west coast may take place in the coming weeks – bringing further tropical storms.

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Murray-Darling Basin plan in chaos as Victoria and NSW oppose further water buybacks

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Both states are behind on their commitments and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says South Australia is being left ‘high and dry’

A meeting of water ministers has descended into acrimony over the final stage of the $13bn Murray-Darling Basin plan, with Victoria and New South Wales joining forces to oppose further buybacks of water and demanding two more years to deliver.

The fiery meeting in Sydney ended with little progress.

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Car pollution kills more Australians than crashes, new research finds

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The University of Melbourne study estimated that 11,105 people die prematurely from transport emissions, many more than past figures

Pollution from motor vehicles could be killing thousands more people than road accidents, with new research finding more than 11,000 Australians die prematurely every year from transport emissions.

The study from the University of Melbourne also found vehicle pollution could be putting more than 19,000 people in hospital for heart and lung issues, and causing asthma cases to spike by 66,000 each year.

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This ‘climate-friendly’ fuel comes with an astronomical cancer risk

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Almost half of products cleared so far under a new US federal ‘biofuels’ program are not, in fact, biofuels

The Environmental Protection Agency recently gave a Chevron refinery the green light to create fuel from discarded plastics as part of a climate-friendly initiative to boost alternatives to petroleum. But, according to agency records obtained by ProPublica and the Guardian, the production of one of the fuels could emit air pollution that is so toxic, one out of four people exposed to it over a lifetime could get cancer.

“That kind of risk is obscene,” said Linda Birnbaum, former head of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “You can’t let that get out.”

This story was updated on 23 February 2023 to correct how much plastic ends up in the oceans each year. It is millions of tons, not hundreds of millions of tons.

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Ynys Enlli off Welsh coast designated as a dark sky sanctuary

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Bardsey Island is first site in Europe to receive certification, thanks to low light pollution and pristine night skies

The sunsets are wonderful but the night that follows even more spectacular. If it is clear, the moon and stars illuminate the tiny island vividly; when it is cloudy, the darkness is thick and unbroken, “bible black” to quote Dylan Thomas.

Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island), two miles off the mainland of north-west Wales, has become the first site in Europe to receive international dark sky sanctuary certification, joining just 16 other spots in some of the most remote places in the world.

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Revealed: scale of ‘forever chemical’ pollution across UK and Europe

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Major mapping project reveals PFAS have been found at high levels at thousands of sites

Pollutants known as “forever chemicals”, which don’t break down in the environment, build up in the body and may be toxic, have been found at high levels at thousands of sites across the UK and Europe, a major mapping project has revealed.

The map shows that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of about 10,000 chemicals valued for their non-stick and detergent properties, have made their way into water, soils and sediments from a wide range of consumer products, firefighting foams, waste and industrial processes.

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Family of Sydney man killed in New Caledonia shark attack remember ‘beloved’ husband and father

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Chris Davis died after being bitten multiple times by a shark while swimming at Chateau Royal beach south of Nouméa

The family of a Sydney man killed in a shark attack while visiting a busy New Caledonia beach is mourning their “beloved” husband and father.

Chris Davis, a 59-year-old software engineer and triathlete, was swimming 150 metres from chateau Royal beach just south of Nouméa on Sunday when a shark bit him several times, according to reports.

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Trump’s environmental rollbacks in focus on visit to Ohio toxic train site

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Former president criticizes Biden administration’s response to train derailment in East Palestine as he visits town

Donald Trump’s record of rolling back environmental protections was highlighted by critics on Wednesday as the ex-president visited the town of East Palestine, Ohio, and called the federal response to the toxic train derailment there earlier this month a “betrayal” .

Trump’s administration, which rolled back more than 100 environmental rules in total, watered down several regulations at the behest of the rail industry.

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Sunak suggests MPs will vote on proposed NI protocol deal and accuses Starmer of wanting to ‘surrender’ to EU – UK politics live

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Latest updates: PM says Commons will be given a chance to ‘express its view’ on any final deal

British Steel has announced the closure of the coking ovens at its Scunthorpe works with the loss of 260 jobs, my colleague Jasper Jolly reports.

Graeme Wearden has reaction to this on his business live blog.

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