Category Archives: Environment

Experts warn of ways screwworm could spread in the US and new difficulties in keeping it at bay

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Scientists worry that current eradication efforts won’t be able to contain parasitic infestation pushing into US

When conservationists set up cameras in remote regions of Central American forests, they wanted to monitor illegal cattle movement, which can lead to deforestation. But in recent months, they discovered another alarming development: wildlife rapidly infected with the new world screwworm.

It’s a warning sign of how the fly could spread in the US – and it signals new difficulties in pushing it back south, a process that will probably take years, experts say.

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Drones are detecting more sharks at US beaches, but do they make the public safer?

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Increase in sightings may not reflect increase in sharks with little evidence that threat to swimmers has risen

Experts say that despite recent increased investment in drones to monitor for sharks in states like New York, the machines have limited usefulness as a public safety tool and there does not appear to be evidence that the threat to swimmers from sharks has increased.

There have, however, been more reports of sharks around local beaches.

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‘Death sentence’: Trump’s EPA to open habitats of endangered species to logging and mining

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Habitat destruction strongest driver of species loss, with legislation keeping 99% of listed species from going extinct

The Trump administration repealed a crucial part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Friday, finalizing a new rule that will open habitats of imperiled wildlife to development, logging, mining and other uses.

For the last 50 years, the landmark environmental law included a broader understanding of the word “harm”, which ensured that not just the plants and animals themselves were protected but also the places that are critical to their survival. The inclusion of habitat in the “harm” definition was upheld by the supreme court in 1995, which ruled in support of old-growth forest protections relied on by endangered spotted owls.

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High court rejects most of ‘dieselgate’ claims brought by 1.6m UK car owners

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Carmakers welcome ruling against suit claiming manufacturers including Nissan, Ford and Peugeot fitted devices to defeat emission tests

Car manufacturers have welcomed a high court verdict that rejected most of the allegations in a “dieselgate” claim brought on behalf of 1.6 million UK owners of polluting cars.

In her judgment, Lady Justice Cockerill said that “in the majority of instances, the court found that the relevant strategy did not constitute a prohibited defeat device” – software that enables the engine to behave differently in tests.

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‘The worst possible combination’: what has caused Spain’s deadly wildfires?

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Blaze made worse by heat, strong wind and plentiful dry vegetation amid hollowing out of rural population

As firefighters struggle to quell the flames ravaging southern Spain and doctors treat the injured, a horrific picture of the fallout is emerging.

At least 12 people died in a fast-spreading inferno that ripped through Almería on Thursday, many trapped in cars as they sought to escape a blaze that scorched 3,800 hectares (9,390 acres). Overwhelmed authorities say eight people have been injured and 23 cannot be accounted for.

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Fast-spreading wildfire kills at least 12 in southern Spain

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Twenty-three people missing and four Britons thought to be among those who died trying to flee Almería blaze

At least 12 people have been killed and 23 are unaccounted for after one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires broke out in the south-eastern province of Almería as the country endures its second heatwave of the summer.

The regional government of Andalucía said the victims, four of whom are believed to be British, had died while trying to escape the flames near the village of Bédar in the municipality of Los Gallardos.

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Pacific gray whales facing ‘catastrophic’ die-off as climate crisis hits food supply

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Trump administration urged to relist a species in ‘very, very serious trouble’ under Endangered Species Act

Climate change is driving a gray whale “catastrophic mortality event” in the Pacific Ocean as melting sea ice depletes food sources and the animals starve, environmental groups warn.

Meanwhile, a range of other issues, like ship strikes, oil spills, microplastic pollution, algal blooms and Russian harvesting are also probably contributing to the die-off that has nearly halved the whales’ estimated population. It fell from 20,000 in 2019 to fewer than 13,000 this year, and the deaths appear to be accelerating.

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‘A lot of red flags’: plans for New Zealand’s first datacentre spark concern as locals demand greater transparency

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Plans to build a NZ$3.5bn datacentre in Makarewa in the country’s south has drawn concern about electricity and water use, and potential noise pollution

People living near the site of New Zealand’s first planned AI datacentre are calling for more transparency about the project, especially about how the centre’s huge electricity and water use and potential noise pollution could affect them.

Singapore-based company Datagrid has secured approval to build a NZ$3.5bn (US$2bn) AI datacentre on a 49-hectare site in Makarewa, just north of New Zealand’s southern-most city, Invercargill. Construction is due to begin this year, with the centre becoming operational by 2028.

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Historic El Nino able to supercharge extreme weather looks increasingly likely – researchers

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Models show overwhelming chance that this year’s El Niño to rank among largest going back to 1950

El Niño is strengthening and the risks of a historic event with the power to supercharge extreme weather around the world are rising, according to the latest analysis from the US National Weather Service.

Models show there is now an 81% chance that a very strong El Niño “that would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950” will develop before the end of this year, forecasters said in an advisory released Thursday. There is almost near certainty – a 97% probability – that the conditions will persist through spring 2027.

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Species’ ingenious survival strategies no match for human destruction, red list reveals

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Newly endangered animals include desert frogs and snails in extreme ocean depths, both threatened by mining

Life has colonised every corner of the planet by evolving ingenious survival strategies but these are increasingly being overwhelmed by destructive human activities, this year’s red list of endangered species has revealed.

Many snails, limpets and clams have adapted to life at crushing depths in the oceans on hydrothermal vents where water temperatures can reach 450C (842F). But an assessment for the red list found that two-thirds of the hundreds of mollusc species found only on deep sea vents were at risk of extinction because of deep-sea mining.

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Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds

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Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally

A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda.

Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised.

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Wildfires rage across southern Europe, forcing thousands to flee homes

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Tour de France spectator ban as country along with Spain, Portugal and Greece faces ‘powder keg’ after heatwave

Wildfires raging across southern Europe have forced thousands to flee their homes and prompted officials to ban spectators from a stage of the Tour de France, amid warnings of “powder keg” conditions after a record-breaking early summer heatwave.

Hundreds of firefighters are tackling blazes that have burned through almost 20,000 hectares (49,500 acres) in Portugal, Spain, France and Greece. Strong winds are forecast to fan the flames and temperatures are expected to rise again this week.

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Extreme high temperatures double young people’s risk of mental health admissions, Australian research shows

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Exclusive University of Sydney study finds heat-related hospital admissions to increase by 6% to 7.7% by the end of the century

Extreme high temperatures in warmer months double the risk of young people being admitted to hospital for a mental health condition, according to research.

The analysis, which looked at 720,000 New South Wales hospital admissions of young people aged up to 24, suggested the climate crisis would aggravate the already declining mental health of young people.

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At least 25 people die in US as record heatwave scorches swaths of country

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More than 20 states reported temperatures above 100F as heat dome sits over eastern US during holiday weekend

At least about two dozen people have died amid the perilous climate crisis-driven heatwave that has scorched swaths of the US with record temperatures.

As a huge heat dome sits over the county’s eastern half, extreme heat gripped millions of people in the days leading up to the US’s semiquincentennial on Saturday – and beyond it. More than 20 states experienced have reported stifling temperatures more than 100F (38C), marring celebrations. And more than 140 million people remained under active heat alerts across the US on Sunday.

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Coal is back in AustralianSuper’s portfolio. What happened to that net zero pledge?

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In 2020 Australia’s biggest super fund dumped its Whitehaven shares. Fast forward to 2026 and it is now the coalminer’s single biggest investor

Almost six years ago, the country’s biggest superannuation fund announced a major policy update: AustralianSuper’s investment portfolio would be subject to a net zero carbon emissions target in line with the Paris agreement.

To make the point, the fund dumped its holdings in the large thermal and metallurgical coalminer Whitehaven Coal.

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Fears Queenslanders could be forced to pay for mine cleanup as LNP reviews environmental ‘red tape’

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Mining minister Dale Last says the state has an ‘enormous opportunity’ to become a global leader in critical minerals

Queenslanders are being warned they could be left to pay for the clean up of abandoned mines if rehabilitation laws are weakened, after the state government announced a bid to cut environmental “red tape” for resources companies.

The state’s treasurer, David Janetzki, and the mining minister, Dale Last, this week announced a review of a scheme that requires resources companies to provide surety to cover remediation and rehabilitation costs when mines close.

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Norfolk Island’s unique corals under triple threat from disease, El Niño and now government-approved dredging

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Exclusive: Most of the island’s corals are likely to be species that have not been formally described by science, researcher says

Scientists fear unique corals that fringe Australia’s remote Norfolk Island could disappear because of a triple threat of disease, El Niño and a federal government plan to dredge a neighbouring shipping channel.

A failure to manage sediment and pollution washing into bays from cattle farming, cleared land along with wastewater has been blamed for widespread disease and outbreaks of algae over the corals.

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What impact will Andy Burnham have on Zack Polanski and the Greens?

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Voters disillusioned with Starmer’s Labour were tempted by the Greens – but Polanski’s party fears the affable, left-leaning Burnham could win them back

The shift was notable. A week after Keir Starmer said he would resign, YouGov polling showed Labour up two points and the Greens down by the same amount. Might an Andy Burnham premiership mean a rethink for Zack Polanski’s party?

The short answer is it is too early to know, particularly in an era of unprecedented political volatility and the seesawing poll numbers that come with it. This year alone, a five-point Labour lead over the Greens has become a similar margin in favour of the Greens, and then a seven-point advantage for Labour.

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Labour MPs call on water firms to save Britain’s lost lidos

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Group, whose constituencies have derelict or at-risk pools, are campaigning to make outdoor swimming available for all

Cooling, blue expanses of water have been a lifesaver for many lucky enough to live near a lido during the recent UK heatwave.

Now, a group of 20 MPs, along with the Fabian Society, are calling for this relief to be made accessible for all by getting water companies to fund the reopening of the country’s lost lidos.

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New pipeline in Canada to proceed after C$150bn pledged to ease BC and First Nations concerns

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Port expansion and protections for whales part of BC and Alberta plan to expand country’s presence overseas

The governments of Canada and the province of Alberta will move forward on a major new oil pipeline after the pair announced a plan to ease concerns of British Columbia and First Nations on the Pacific coast.

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, shuttled between British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday to announce more than C$150bn in new investments in both provinces, part of a broader project of reducing trade with the United States and expanding his country’s presence in overseas markets.

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