Category Archives: Environment

Epaulette sharks can walk on land for two hours, researchers say

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A species of carpet shark is evolving to better survive warming seas and the climate crisis

Researchers at a Florida university say a small but feisty species of carpet shark with an extraordinary ability to walk on land is evolving to better survive warming seas and the climate crisis.

The epaulette shark, commonly found on shallow reefs of Australia and New Guinea, can walk for up to 30 meters on dry land using paddle shaped fins, and survive hypoxia – a deficiency of oxygen – for up to two hours.

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Indigenous group says Tanya Plibersek ‘hasn’t done her homework’ on Burrup peninsula fertiliser plant

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Save Our Songlines accuses environment minister of ‘false conclusions’ and ‘faulty reasoning’ about support for development and says it risks ‘another Juukan Gorge’

Traditional custodians opposed to a contentious $4.5bn fertiliser plant on Western Australia’s Burrup peninsula have accused Tanya Plibersek of “faulty reasoning” and drawing “false conclusions” about the views of local Aboriginal communities after she decided not to pause the development.

The environment minister decided work on the plant could go ahead after visiting the peninsula, in the state’s north, earlier this month. She said her decision was based on support for the development from the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which she described as the “legally constituted and democratically elected group that safeguards First Nations culture in the Burrup area”.

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‘Too much to lose’ in Santos gas project off Tiwi Islands, marine ranger tells court

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Federal court hearing on the islands, north of Darwin, told a spill would mean ‘everything ends up dead’ in delicate marine ecosystem

A large gas project off the Tiwi Islands could threaten a vulnerable turtle species and disrupt a thriving ecosystem of fish, a marine ranger has told the federal court.

Tiwi Islander Dennis Tipakalippa is challenging the decision to allow Santos to drill eight wells in the Barossa gas field, 265km north-west of Darwin.

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Lula vows to take on Amazon crime if returned to power in Brazil elections

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Ex-president says he will clamp down on illegal miners and loggers after murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

The leading candidate to become Brazil’s next president has vowed to launch a major crackdown on the illegal miners and loggers laying waste to the Amazon in the wake of the “barbaric” murders of the Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips.

Speaking to foreign journalists in São Paulo, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva paid tribute to the two men, who were gunned down in June while documenting the historic assault on Indigenous lands that has unfolded under Brazil’s current leader, Jair Bolsonaro.

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Rare orchid flourishes in Charles Darwin’s gardens after two-year project

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Unusually the violet helleborine is only pollinated by wasps and is thriving thanks to nectar that is irresistible to the insects

A rare orchid that reproduces by getting wasps drunk is thriving in the gardens of Charles Darwin’s house after a two-year restoration programme.

The violet helleborine is entirely pollinated by wasps, which are usually not perceived to be the best pollinators. They’re regimented and meticulously clean themselves, scientists say, which makes the process of pollination a fairly futile prospect – there’s nothing for the pollen to cling to.

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Tanya Plibersek backs contentious fertiliser plant on Burrup peninsula

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Federal environment minister says Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation supports development despite concerns over impact on culturally important sites

The federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has ruled a controversial $4.5bn fertiliser plant near ancient rock art on Western Australia’s Burrup peninsula can go ahead after being told it had the support of a local Aboriginal corporation.

Work on the development had stopped after Save Our Songlines, a separate traditional owners organisation opposed to the project, asked the minister to protect five culturally important sites, including petroglyphs. Three of the five are due to be moved during construction.

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Torrential rains lash southern US as millions under flood warnings

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Meteorologists issue warnings for more than 13 million people in north-east Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico and Arizona

Millions of Americans are under flood warnings after heavy rain this weekend in a large portion of the south and south-western US.

Government meteorologists issued flood warnings for more than 13 million people after torrent rainfall created life-threatening conditions in a region including north-east Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico.

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Sewage monitors faulty at seaside spots in England and Wales, data shows

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Environment Agency figures indicate people could be swimming in human waste this summer without warning

Sewage monitors at some popular seaside destinations in England and Wales are faulty or not installed, Environment Agency data has revealed, meaning people could be swimming in human waste this summer without realising.

Seaside holidays this year have been marred by water companies pumping raw sewage into the ocean, with popular beaches in areas including Sussex and Devon having to close.

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New Zealand’s flood-prone areas not ready to cope with climate crisis, Ardern says

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Touring flood-hit region of Nelson, prime minister says country must do ‘all we can’ to deal with damaging events triggered by a warming climate

New Zealand’s flood- and slip-prone regions do not have the mechanisms in place to cope with rapid environmental changes brought about by the climate crisis, Jacinda Ardern has said after visiting the aftermath of a monster storm.

The prime minister was touring the site of devastating flooding and landslips around Nelson, at the top of the South Island, when she was asked if she was satisfied that New Zealand had the framework and investment to cope with weather events that are becoming more frequent.

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South Australia’s Flinders Ranges nominated for Unesco world heritage status

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Dubbed a ‘great outdoor museum’, the fossil-rich region will be assessed by the World Heritage Centre, a process expected to take another two years

South Australia’s iconic and fossil-rich Flinders Ranges is one step closer to being declared one of Australia’s natural wonders on the Unesco World Heritage List.

The area has been nominated for a tentative listing as a world heritage site, on behalf of the South Australian government and the area’s traditional owners, the Adnyamathanha people.

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Game over – the Ritz takes grouse off the menu in victory for environment campaigners

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Some restaurants are listening, with Corrigan’s not sourcing from intensive shoots and the Ritz not serving a Glorious Twelfth dish

From 12 August to early December, it’s usually possible to walk into old-fashioned fine dining establishments across the country and order the rare British delicacy that is grouse, frequently served with bread sauce and game chips.

But those hoping to eat the tiny game bird in the gilded Ritz dining room in London will be out of luck this year, as the world-famous hotel has quietly removed it from the menu after an outcry from environmental campaigners.

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Drought in Horn of Africa places 22m people at risk of starvation, says UN

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Four years of failed rains in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia have left the region facing catastrophe this year

The number of people at risk of starvation in the drought-ravaged Horn of Africa has increased to 22 million, the UN’s world food programme (WFP) says.

Years of insufficient rainfall across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia have caused the worst drought in 40 years and conditions akin to famine in the hardest-hit areas, aid groups say.

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Canada zoo finds escaped wolf pups in moment of joy tinged with tragedy

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Four days after a ‘suspicious’ break-in, one pup is found safe and another appears to have been hit by a car

Emotions are bittersweet at a Canadian zoo after a runaway wolf pup was safely located after four days on the loose, but another was found dead along a road.

Conservation officers and zoo staff in Canada have spent the last four days searching for a runaway wolf after mysterious break-in freed a pack of the predators from the popular zoo.

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‘Generation sensible’ risk missing out on life experiences, therapists warn

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Reports of rise in social anxiety among overly cautious 11- to 25-year-olds who often interact online

They have been deemed “generation sensible” for their focus on social issues, healthy living and drinking less alcohol. But therapists say generation Z could miss out on a wealth of life experience due to their overly cautious attitude to taking risks.

Many young people increasingly choose to stay within a comfort zone of a small network of like-minded friends in which much of their social activity is virtual, according to mental health experts.

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Rare golden algae may have caused fish deaths in Oder River, says minister

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Polish minister Anna Moskwa says experts have found algal bloom in water samples, after mass die-off puzzled scientists

Rare micro-organisms known as golden algae could be the cause of a mass die-off of fish in the Oder River that has puzzled scientists for days, Poland’s environment minister has suggested.

“After further investigations, the Institute of Inland Fisheries in Olsztyn has found rare microorganisms, so-called golden algae, in water samples from the Oder River,” Anna Moskwa said on Thursday.

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Hunger stones, wrecks and bones: Europe’s drought brings past to surface

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Receding rivers and lakes have exposed ghost villages, a Nazi tank and a Roman fort

The warning could not be starker. Wenn du mich siehst, dann weine (“If you see me, then weep”), reads the grim inscription on a rock in the Elbe River near the northern Czech town of Děčín, close to the German border.

As Europe’s rivers run dry in a devastating drought that scientists say could prove the worst in 500 years, their receding waters are revealing long-hidden artefacts, from Roman camps to ghost villages and second world war shipwrecks.

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Weather tracker: flash floods as Europe’s heatwave ends with thunderstorms

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Torrential rains hit parts of England, Italy, France and Belgium, while in China flooding leaves 18 dead

Prolonged heat across parts of northern and western Europe ended with torrential showers and thunderstorms this week.

On Wednesday, parts of southern England received 50-65mm of rainfall within a few hours, causing London’s Gatwick airport to delay and cancel dozens of flights.

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New Zealand floods could take years to clean up, with 1,200 people displaced

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A fourth straight day of rain brought by an ‘atmospheric river’ has damaged roads and homes and forced more than 400 households to evacuate

Torrential downpours that have battered New Zealand for four days straight have caused floods that could take years to clean up and displaced at least 1,200 people from their homes in the top of the South Island.

Friday’s rain comes on top of weeks of wet weather and is worsening conditions in New Zealand’s already sodden landscape. Experts have attributed the unseasonably wet weather to a narrow stream of water vapour, or “atmospheric river”, sitting above the country.

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Russian embassy spokesperson suggests Australian government unwilling to support espionage-proof building

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Teal independents to attend national EV summit today

Many of the newly elected independents who campaigned on a platform of stronger climate action are set today’s electric vehicle summit in Canberra.

Our support will be delivered through UN agencies to provide food, health and nutrition services, access to safe water and essential support for those at risk, including women and children.

Australia’s continued assistance to Sri Lanka supports our mutual interest in a secure and resilient Indian Ocean and reinforces our 75 year-strong relationship built on cooperation and community connection.

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Bonuses for water bosses in England up 20% last year despite sewage failures

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Water company executives received on average £100,000 in bonuses, despite most firms missing targets

The annual bonuses paid to water company executives rose by 20% in 2021, despite most of the firms failing to meet sewage pollution targets.

Figures show on average executives received £100,000 in one-off payments on top of their salaries, during a period in which foul water was being pumped for 2.7m hours into England’s rivers and swimming spots.

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