Environment

Similar initiatives have been launched from Barcelona to Bogotá, but they have misinformation, political pressure and vested interests stacked against themTen years ago, Alastair Harper was an advocate for young people’s health sitting in a stuffy meeting room in London planning an air pollution campaign. “My phone started buzzing,” he said. “I took the call, and then told the room I needed to leave immediately.“I had to get to UCLH [one of London’s major hospitals]. My own child was headed ther

Surge in proposals follows Labour’s lifting of de facto ban, with about 45 plans submitted in the year to MarchPlans for new onshore windfarms in England have reached their highest annual level in a decade, after the government overturned the Conservatives’ de facto ban in 2015.About 45 applications for new onshore windfarms were submitted in the year to March,according to a Guardian analysis of government data. Continue reading...

North Sea oil, once the driving force of the UK economy, may be dwindling but it remains a symbol of prestige and a rich resource for political debateWhen oil was first discovered off the north-east coast of Scotland in September 1969, industry folklore has it that the duty superintendent on the rig carefully poured it into a pickle jar commandeered from the canteen and took it back to Amoco’s Great Yarmouth office in Norfolk. There, it was emptied into an ash tray, sniffed and then set alight.F

Exclusive: campaigners warn 600-year-old New Barn at Harmondsworth could be ‘shaken to pieces’ by vibrationsSix hundred years after it was built, England’s largest surviving medieval timber-framed barn could now be “shaken to pieces” by aircraft vibrations, campaigners warn.The public has until 1 September to submit objections to the Heathrow airport expansion, which could threaten the survival of the New Barn at Harmondsworth, considered a remarkable example of medieval architecture. Continue r

The state’s bird emblem is an indicator species for H5N1, with high visibility populations and low survival rates. Experts are warning of ‘significant mortality’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen the black swans start dying, Western Australians will know that bird flu has truly arrived.The birds are an “indicator species” because once they are infected with the H5N1 virus, they are more likely to die than survive,

Arizona’s share of the river will shrink by a third, likely increasing reliance on groundwater and raising pressure on agriculture.

As autumn gives way to winter across the Arctic, the ground doesn't immediately freeze solid. Instead, soils often linger near the freezing point for days or even weeks in a phase called the zero curtain. In a new NASA-led study, researchers produced high-resolution maps of the Arctic zero curtain.

Europe saw at least 30,000 excess deaths across a blistering summer of back-to-back heat waves and drought that scientists have blamed on man-made climate change, according to provisional figures.

With Gulf turmoil slashing Suez Canal traffic, shipping firms are tempted to try the Arctic for quicker trips between Europe and Asia—but commercial prospects are unlikely to match countries' strategic ambitions for the North Pole.

Sometimes science throws up the unexpected. When a team of researchers set out to model river erosion in Canada's High Arctic, they did not expect the findings to defy common sense.

In the early 1990s, the logging roads running through Sarawak’s Upper Baram became the site of a bitter confrontation. Penan families built wooden barricades and faced off bulldozers, timber trucks, and state security forces. As the protests drew international attention, the government of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud restricted media access and portrayed the Penan as backward people manipulated by foreign activists. International NGOs presented them as forest dwellers engaged in a timeless s

The U.S. has faced a critical shortage of firefighters at the Forest Service, or USFS, this summer as thousands of fires erupted across the country. Despite officials’ claims that the firefighting workforce was stronger than ever, the agency has failed to keep pace with escalating conditions and the catastrophic fires fueled by them, according to nine firefighters who spoke to the Guardian anonymously, because they are barred from disclosing the information to the public. Several people fa

Athletes faced last-minute cancelling of 2.4-mile swim, as experts say pollution and extreme heat are causing bloomsAs far as athletic accomplishments go, few are held in higher regard than completing an Ironman triathlon.The amount of training required to tackle the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26-mile run that make up the course, as well as the expensive equipment required to train in the first place, means that only about 50,000 people in the world complete a full race and earn the t

Beach patrols report hundreds of stings a day as warmer waters and drought create favorable conditions for jellyfishAn unusually high number of jellyfish are crowding Delaware’s beaches this summer amid climate change and other environmental factors – keeping some beachgoers out of the ocean and stinging lifeguards as well as bathers.Beach safety patrols in the state have reported hundreds of daily stings as the jellyfish have increased with intensifying environmental factors, including warmer w

This year’s Convention to Combat Desertification focuses on rangelands and attempts to address an overlooked solution to climate change.By Georgina GustinIn Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, policy makers, scientists and global negotiators are gathering to convey an urgent message: The world’s rangelands, which make up about half of Earth’s land surface, are in trouble. But these same lands offer an opportunity. If, collectively, farmers and land users restore rangelands and soils, they can combat drought

How does a community adapt to challenging times? A tiny home built to withstand floods. Ancient floating gardens bringing a canal back to life. Giant fishing nets and the people working to protect a threatened tradition. Across Bangladesh, Mexico and Thailand, communities are finding practical ways to protect their homes, food systems, waterways and livelihoods. In Bangladesh, families are building simple, flood-resistant homes designed to keep people and food supplies safe during intense monsoo

Monona County officials and residents fear a repeat of the communication gaps and loopholes that left them caught off guard by a plan to import treated slaughterhouse manure.By Anika Jane BeamerIn a matter of days, a dirt pit the size of five football fields appeared next to the weathered headstones of Center Cemetery in Castana, Iowa.

Running a farm is tough – TV’s Clarkson’s Farm shows that – but I know many minorities would love the chance. And we would all benefit Who’d be a farmer? Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon is great entertainment but it also gives some indication of the stresses and challenges behind the farm gate. Would anyone who lacked the significant alternative income that Clarkson is lucky to have want that? Well, actually, yes.I’m an entrepreneur who owns a farm, as opposed to hands-on running the small one I bough

Experts say fires caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries, such as those in vapes, are putting lives at riskFires at recycling centres caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries such as those found in vapes are occurring at the rate of more than 10 a week, according to new figures.Experts say the sheer volume of battery fires now occurring at waste facilities has reached a crisis that is putting lives at risk, costing £1bn a year and frustrating fire chiefs. Continue reading...

Many Australians now have the option to work from home. But is it better or worse for the environment?Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprintGot a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.comThe normalisation of working from home and flexible work has been one of the Covid-19 pandemic’s few positive legacies.Today more than a third of Australians – and most mana