Category Archives: Environment

‘We just want the truth’: British coastal towns fight for answers over mystery sealife deaths

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Question mark over freeport in Tees Valley after ecological disaster puts communities in the north east of England at loggerheads with the government

Stan Rennie has indelicate hands that aren’t good for typing. He’s not the kind of person who cares much for technology at all.

But over the last year, the fisherman has found himself spending less time outdoors and more time glued to his computer, tapping out stern emails to politicians and researching niche areas of environmental law. “It’s taken over his life,” his daughter Sarah, 36, says.

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Farmers in England to be allowed to use ‘lethal force’ on beavers

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Government guidance on rodents angers conservationists who say animals are a help not a hindrance to agriculture

Farmers in England will be allowed to shoot beavers if they threaten their crops, the government has revealed.

Conservationists have opposed the move, saying the animals are an “ally to farmers”, helping conserve water in times of drought, and are an endangered species that should be treasured. The rodents became extinct in the UK 400 years ago after they were hunted for their pelts, but in recent years they have been reintroduced to England and Scotland.

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Blazes erupt across California as state bakes in scorching heat

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Seven firefighters hospitalized, with extreme temperatures expected to last through Labor Day

Firefighters were battling blazes across California in grueling heat on Friday, as fast-moving flames erupted near the Oregon border and prompted evacuation orders for at least 5,000 people.

Residents of the towns of Weed, Lake Shasta and Edgewood in Siskiyou County were told to evacuate after a blaze, dubbed the Mill fire, began spreading in hot and windy conditions and grew to 500 acres in about an hour, the Siskiyou sheriff’s office said in a statement.

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Let them eat bugs: UK urges hunger-stricken African nations to farm insects

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Aid projects in DRC and Zimbabwe encourage rural inhabitants to eat insects rich in vitamins and minerals

UK aid spending is encouraging hunger-stricken Africans to eat insects, with projects aiming to develop the practice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe.

Edible insects have long been touted as a resource-efficient source of protein, requiring less land and water than conventional livestock. However, taste and cultural resistance have proved to be stumbling blocks in extending the practice in many parts of the world.

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Weather tracker: South Korea and Japan brace for typhoon Hinnamnor

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Strongest tropical storm of the year also forecast to hit China’s mainland this weekend after winds reach 160mph

Destruction is imminent across southern Japan and South Korea as super typhoon Hinnamnor barrels northwards through the East China Sea this weekend.

The typhoon is so far the strongest tropical storm of the 2022 hurricane season and developed gradually this week out in the Pacific, edging towards the Philippines and Taiwan. By Thursday, maximum sustained winds had reached 160mph, leading to classification as a category 5 tropical cyclone, or a super typhoon.

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Aid continues to arrive in Pakistan as deaths from floods pass 1,200

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Planes bring food, medicine and tents to disaster zone, with officials blaming floods on climate change

Planes carrying fresh supplies are forming a humanitarian air bridge to flood-ravaged Pakistan as the death toll passed 1,200, officials have said with families and children at special risk of disease and homelessness.

The ninth flight from the United Arab Emirates and the first from Uzbekistan were the latest to land in Islamabad overnight as a military-backed rescue operation elsewhere in the country reached more of the 3 million people affected by the disaster.

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British rural voters ‘ignored’ by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak

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Tory leadership hopefuls ‘taking countryside voters for granted’ and neglecting pressing issues, says CLA business group

Neither of the candidates for leadership of the Conservative party has made a convincing pitch to rural voters, despite that demographic being one of the biggest sources of Tory power, the head of the UK’s biggest rural business organisation said.

Mark Tufnell, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which represents about 30,000 landowners and rural businesses, said Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak had done too little to show how they would boost the countryside economy and deal with pressing concerns such as planning, rural broadband, and farm support.

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More Australians worried about climate change than ever before, but conservatives less so

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Rightwing voters in Australia less concerned about climate than those in most other comparable nations, Pew survey finds

Rightwing voters in Australia are less likely to consider climate change a major threat compared to rightwing voters in most other comparable nations, according to a major international survey.

The latest Pew Research Centre survey, however, showed that overall more Australians are worried about climate change than ever before.

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UK retailers blocking moves to end the killing of day-old male chicks

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While France and Germany have introduced bans, Britain continues to slaughter 29 million unwanted chicks every year

UK retailers are blocking moves to end the killing of millions of day-old male chicks each year, farmers and breeding companies have said.

The industrial-scale culling of unwanted chicks is common practice around the world, with 330 million males slaughtered by crushing or gassing each year in Europe, according to campaigners, 29 million of those in the UK.

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Japan’s hottest city to give out umbrellas to protect children from sun

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After an increase in the number of days when the mercury rose to at least 35C, 9,000 yellow fibreglass umbrellas will be handed out to children in Kumagaya

Children living in Japan’s hottest city will be given specially designed umbrellas to protect them from the heat, after a summer that saw record-breaking temperatures in many parts of the country.

Local authorities in Kumagaya in Saitama prefecture have devised an umbrella that keeps out the rain and doubles as a parasol, the Mainichi Shimbun reported.

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Urgent aid appeal launched as satellite images show a third of Pakistan underwater

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Humanitarian workers expect conditions to worsen as monsoon rains continue and say millions face a terrible winter

Aid workers have appealed for urgent donations to fight the “absolutely devastating” impact of flooding in Pakistan, as new satellite images appeared to confirm that a third of the country is now underwater.

As the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched an appeal to raise funds for the 33 million people affected, the European Space Agency released stark images based on data captured by its Copernicus satellite.

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South African court bans offshore oil and gas exploration by Shell

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Judgment is huge victory for campaigners concerned about effect of seismic waves on marine life

A South African court has upheld a ban imposed on the energy giant Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas off the Indian Ocean coast.

The judgment delivered in Makhanda on Thursday marks a monumental victory for environmentalists concerned about the impact the exploration would have on whales and other marine life.

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Johnson takes jibe at Truss plans for fracking and North Sea drilling

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Outgoing leader hails £700m funding for Sizewell C nuclear plant in penultimate speech

• Boris Johnson says ‘madness’ not to build Sizewell C – UK politics live

Boris Johnson has vowed to give his total support to the next prime minister, but could not resist using his penultimate speech to take a potshot at Liz Truss’s energy plans.

In an attempt to shore up his legacy just days before he leaves No 10, the outgoing Conservative leader hailed the government’s “accelerated, long-overdue reforms” to make the UK more energy independent and announced £700m for the Sizewell C nuclear plant.

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Thousands of dead fish wash up in Oakland lake to create a putrid mess

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Experts, concerned about the algae bloom that is turning the water to brown muck, say the die-off is ‘like losing giant redwoods’

Thousands of fish carcasses have been floating up to the edges of the San Francisco Bay, and the scummy top of Oakland’s Lake Merritt – stewing under the sun and wafting a putrid stench into nearby neighborhoods.

The dead bat rays, striped bass, sturgeon, anchovies and clams, are likely mass victims of an algal bloom that scientists are racing to understand. In the meantime citizen scientists, local photographers, joggers and naturalists have been capturing dramatic photos of the die off.

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Brutal heatwave headed for US west, raising health fears

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Parts of California could see 115F heat as several states face potentially record-breaking weather

A brutal, potentially record-breaking heatwave is setting over the US west, the latest in a string of extreme temperature events that’s putting communities on high alert for heat-related illness and death.

Temperatures are expected to hit 115F (46C) in the coming days across parts of southern California, Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley, according to the National Weather Service. In Death Valley, temperatures were forecast to reach more than 120F (49C).

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Burning native forest wood waste for electricity shouldn’t be classed as renewable energy, Senate report suggests

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Climate bill inquiry says government should consider establishing a transition authority for coal and gas workers

A Labor-led committee has recommended the government consider changing a controversial law classifying electricity from burning native forest wood waste as renewable energy after the Senate votes for its climate change legislation.

The Senate committee inquiry into Labor’s climate change bill also recommended the Albanese government consider how to help with “transition arrangements” for fossil fuel workers affected by the shift to a cleaner economy.

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Health officials warn of major outbreaks of disease after severe floods in Pakistan

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Diarrhoea and malaria cases spread, with risk of dysentery and cholera, as millions of displaced people forced to drink flood water

Health officials have warned of large-scale outbreaks of disease in Pakistan after severe flooding displaced millions of people.

A rise in cases of diarrhoea and malaria has been reported after months of heavy rains left people stranded and without access to clean water.

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‘We need your help’: Bishops plead with UK to aid drought-ravaged Horn of Africa

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Open letter from 44 Anglican leaders contrasts ‘generous’ British response to Ukraine with ‘dire need’ still unmet in their countries

Dozens of bishops from drought-ravaged east Africa have appealed to the UK government to urgently get more funding to those in need, warning that Britain’s rapid response to the Ukraine crisis must not come at the expense of lives elsewhere.

As the worst drought for four decades tightens its grip on Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, with millions facing acute hunger, the group of 44 Anglican bishops criticised the international community for not paying attention to early warnings or backing up rhetoric with sufficient funds.

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Historic monuments resurface as severe drought shrinks Spain’s reservoirs

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Prehistoric stone circle and 11th-century church uncovered as country’s reservoirs hit 36% of normal capacity

A huge megalithic complex and a centuries-old church are among the underwater monuments to have resurfaced in Spain as a severe drought causes water levels to plunge.

After a prolonged dry spell, Spain’s reservoirs – which supply water for cities and farms – are at just under 36% capacity, according to environment ministry figures for August.

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Canada invokes treaty with US in push to keep cross-border pipeline open

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Canada warns of ‘significant’ economic damage in the event of a shutdown of Line 5, which travels through Michigan

Canada has once again invoked a longstanding treaty with the US as it seeks to keep a controversial cross-border pipeline open, warning of “significant” economic damage to both countries in the event of a shutdown.

Canada’s foreign minister said Line 5, a pipeline operated by Calgary-based Enbridge, was a critical source of energy security.

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