Category Archives: Environment

Plan to extend Queensland coalmine would bulldoze ‘critical’ koala habitat

Posted on by

Glencore says it is working with state and federal governments to minimise the impact of flora and fauna in the 680ha area west of Mackay

Habitat for threatened koalas that are part of a population described by one expert as nationally significant would be bulldozed under plans to extend a Queensland coalmine.

The campaign group Lock the Gate used drones with thermal imaging cameras to find 13 koalas in one night in trees earmarked for clearing by mining company Glencore.

Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter

Continue reading...

‘No country is safe’: deadly Nordic heatwave supercharged by climate crisis, scientists say

Posted on by

Historically cool nations saw hospitals overheating and surge in drownings, wildfires and toxic algal blooms

The prolonged Nordic heatwave in July was supercharged by the climate crisis and shows “no country is safe from climate change”, scientists say.

Norway, Sweden and Finland have historically cool climates but were hit by soaring temperatures, including a record run of 22 days above 30C (86C) in Finland. Sweden endured 10 straight days of “tropical nights”, when temperatures did not fall below 20C (68F).

Continue reading...

Alaska’s Juneau orders evacuations as record glacier flood looms

Posted on by

Mendenhall Glacier outburst threatens homes, with scientists warning events are intensifying

Alaska’s capital city of Juneau is urging many residents to evacuate, bracing for the arrival of what could be record floodwaters flowing downstream from a basin dammed by the area’s Mendenhall Glacier, with the event being driven by climate change amid glacial retreat, according to a federal agency.

Summer glacial flooding, known as a glacial lake outburst flood, or GLOF, threatens parts of the city due to a combination of rainwater and snowmelt.

Continue reading...

Commonwealth Bank urged to repay fees of 2 million low-income customers after posting record profit

Posted on by

Australia’s biggest bank delivers bumper payout to shareholders as CBA vows to end lending to coal companies with no net zero plans

The Commonwealth bank has posted a record cash profit, sparking renewed calls for Australia’s biggest bank to repay more than 2 million low-income customers $270m in fees – something it has refused to do.

CBA recorded $10.25bn in annual cash profits for the year to June – a 4% lift on the previous year – and gave a bumper $2.60 payout per share to shareholders.

Continue reading...

WA Museum partnership with Woodside criticised as record-breaking marine heatwave decimates coral reefs

Posted on by

A report finding 75% of coral is bleached or dead along a 1,500km stretch of WA coastline is released as fossil fuel giant inks partnership extension

The WA Greens and the state’s peak conservation body have condemned the extension of a research partnership between the Western Australian Museum and Woodside, as the state reels from a record-breaking marine heatwave that has killed corals over a 1,500km stretch of ocean.

The five-year continuation of the “longstanding collaboration”, in which the gas giant supports the museum’s biodiversity research along the WA coastline, would allow for further targeted research along the Gascoyne coast, according to announcements.

Continue reading...

Aukus laws will mean anywhere in Australia could be potential nuclear waste dump, critics say

Posted on by

Greens senator David Shoebridge says communities will have ‘no way to protect the land’ from waste that will be radioactive for millennia

Critics of Australia’s Aukus submarine deal say the government has given itself the power to nominate any place in Australia as a potential nuclear waste dump, without proper consultation with communities and indigenous landowners.

Australia has agreed to take sole responsibility for the management, security and storage of all nuclear waste from its fleet of proposed nuclear-powered submarines, including the spent fuel from the submarines’ reactors – high-level nuclear waste that will be radioactive for millennia once the submarines are decommissioned from the early 2050s.

Continue reading...

Thousands evacuated in Spain amid deadly wildfires and new heatwave

Posted on by

Temperatures of 44C predicted as blazes rage across Europe

Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern, central and southern Spain as wildfires continue to burn amid a heatwave that could bring temperatures of 44C to some parts of the country.

The deadly heat across large parts of Europe has created what scientists have called a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires.

Continue reading...

Colorado deploys more than 1,000 firefighters to battle two huge blazes

Posted on by

Lee fire is one of largest blazes in state history after burning 130,000 acres, while Elk fire surpassed 14,000 acres

Firefighters in Colorado responding to one of the largest blazes in the state’s history are facing gusty winds and dry conditions that are expected to continue to drive extreme fire behavior.

More than 1,000 firefighters have been deployed, and while crews have gained containment on one fire, another has grown amid fire-friendly weather.

Continue reading...

‘Death spiral’: Mekong River megafish have shrunk by half, study reveals

Posted on by

Fish once as large as grizzly bears have become far smaller in recent years due to overfishing, dams and climate crisis

The size of megafish in the Mekong River has shrunk alarmingly in recent years owing to overfishing, a study has found. The length of the largest and most endangered freshwater giants, some as big as grizzly bears, decreased by 40% in seven years.

Some fish, like the Mekong giant catfish, have been studied for over a longer period and show a decline in weight of 55% in the past 25 years, dropping from an average of 180kg (397lb) to 80kg.

Continue reading...

WA’s ‘longest and most intense’ marine heatwave killed coral across 1,500km stretch

Posted on by

Scientists shocked by bleaching event that hit reefs from the world heritage-listed Ningaloo to the remote Ashmore Reef

The “longest, largest and most intense” marine heatwave ever recorded in Western Australia has killed coral throughout an area that stretches 1,500km, according to state and federal scientists.

More than 100 scientists and marine managers will gather in Perth on Tuesday for a special meeting to discuss the devastating event that bleached and killed corals on remote reefs earlier this year.

The marine heatwave that hit reefs from the world heritage-listed Ningaloo to the remote Ashmore Reef left many scientists shocked.

Continue reading...

Waste from agricultural plant poisoned US town’s water with Pfas, lawsuits allege

Posted on by

Some Salisbury, Maryland, residents say the contaminated water from Perdue Farms’s local plant has sickened them

Wastewater from an industrial soya bean farm and processor has poisoned a Maryland town’s drinking water with Pfas, several lawsuits allege, raising questions about residents’ health and “forever chemical” pollution from industrial agricultural operations nationwide.

Perdue Farms acknowledged that its 300-acre Salisbury, Maryland, operation is polluting local waters, but the chemicals’ sources have not been confirmed. It appears the Pfas is in part also coming from some combination of sludge used as fertilizer and pesticides, attorneys for plaintiffs say.

Continue reading...

Wind generator Ørsted’s shares sink as it makes $9bn cash call

Posted on by

Danish company blames Donald Trump for derailing its business model after market value drops by a third

Europe’s largest wind power company has blamed Donald Trump for derailing its business model, after it unveiled a $9bn (£6.7bn) fundraising and its market value plunged by almost a third.

The share price for Denmark’s Ørsted tumbled to an all-time low after it told investors on Monday that the “extraordinary situation” facing the industry meant it would need to tap shareholders to cover the costs of its plans.

Continue reading...

Southern Europe swelters under deadly heatwave as temperatures pass 40C

Posted on by

Four-year-old boy dies of heatstroke in Italy as scientists warn of ‘molotov cocktail’ of climatic conditions

Deadly heat of up to 44C is searing southern Europe, as scientists warn of a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires across the Mediterranean.

In Italy, where temperatures of 40C are expected in Florence later this week, a four-year-old boy died of heatstroke, and a red alert warning was issued for seven major cities, including Bologna and Florence.

Continue reading...

Farmers displaced by $1.5bn Trump golf course reportedly being offered rice and cash

Posted on by

White House denies suggestions resort in Vietnam presents conflict of interest amid row over compensation rates

Villagers whose farms in Vietnam will be bulldozed to make way for a $1.5bn golf resort backed by the Trump family have reportedly been offered rice provisions and cash compensation of as little as $12 for a square metre of land by state authorities.

Thousands of villagers will be offered compensation based on land size and location, according to a report by Reuters. The agency spoke to elderly farmers who said they feared they would struggle to find a stable livelihood.

Continue reading...

Human connection to nature has declined 60% in 200 years, study finds

Posted on by

Prof Miles Richardson says people risk ‘extinction of experience’ in the natural world without new policies

People’s connection to nature has declined by more than 60% since 1800, almost exactly mirroring the disappearance of nature words such as river, moss and blossom from books, according to a study.

Computer modelling predicts that levels of nature connectedness will continue to decline unless there are far-reaching policy and societal changes – with introducing children to nature at a young age and radically greening urban environments the most effective interventions.

Continue reading...

Brazil’s president signs environmental ‘devastation bill’ but vetoes key articles

Posted on by

Campaigners had urged Lula to veto the bill entirely, but many have welcomed his alterations

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has signed into law a controversial bill that scientists and environmentalists had dubbed the “devastation bill”, but vetoed key articles that would have in effect dismantled the country’s environmental licensing system.

On Friday, the final day to either sanction or veto the law, Lula struck down or amended 63 of the 398 provisions in a bill that, as approved by congress last month, had been regarded as the most significant setback to Brazil’s environmental protections in four decades.

Continue reading...

Eight bat researchers mostly from Asia and Africa refused entry into Australia to attend global scientific event

Posted on by

Organisers say move will damage nation’s scientific standing as government refuses to comment on why group of scientists were refused entry

Organisers of an international research conference have criticised a last-minute Australian government decision to deny visas to eight invited researchers, mostly from Asia and Africa.

Prof Justin Welbergen, chair of the 20th International Bat Research Conference in Cairns, said the decision to deny the researchers entry without option to appeal had disrupted the event, which is a key forum for global collaboration on bat research and conservation.

Continue reading...

UK ministers push ahead with discount on bills for households near new pylons

Posted on by

Plans have provoked outrage from communities in areas of Great Britain expected to host new infrastructure

The government is pushing head with a plan to offer those who live near new electricity pylons a discount of £2,500 from their energy bills over the next 10 years to ease the backlash against its clean power plans.

Thousands of households within half a kilometre of new or upgraded electricity infrastructure could each receive up to £250 off their annual energy bill from next year to help speed up the rollout of infrastructure critical to the government’s targets.

Continue reading...

Plan to reintroduce banned pesticide in France overruled by constitutional council

Posted on by

‘Duplomb law’ provision to allow use of acetamiprid, toxic to pollinators, found not to abide by environmental charter

France’s top constitutional authority has ruled against the reintroduction of a pesticide that is harmful to ecosystems, saying it is unconstitutional.

The decision on Thursday night deals a blow to the government. It comes after weeks of opposition from the left, environmentalists and doctors, and a record-breaking 2m signatures on a petition against a bill that would have allowed a pesticide banned in France in 2020 to come back into use.

Continue reading...

Lynx could thrive in Northumberland with most in area supporting return, study finds

Posted on by

Release of 20 lynx over several years into Kielder Forest area would create population of about 50 animals

Releasing just 20 lynx in Northumberland would be enough to create a healthy wild population, research has found, and most people in the area would support the practice.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust has been working to see if the wild cats, which became extinct in Britain about 1,300 years ago as a result of hunting and habitat loss, could be returned to the area.

Continue reading...