The Guardian Environment

Scottish government to consider SNP national council motion for moratorium on all new datacentresThe Scottish government is about to consider a sweeping moratorium on building new datacentres, putting a key plank of the UK’s AI strategy at risk.Last Sunday the Scottish National party (SNP)’s national council passed a motion to freeze all new datacentres in Scotland. That motion has been sent to the Scottish government to consider. Continue reading...

Study of more than 2,000 men identifies epigenetic changes linked to exposure to common outdoor pollutantsAir pollution appears to alter how sperm genes function, one of the largest fertility studies of its kind has found.Men exposed to common air pollutants while sperm were developing showed subtle DNA changes that affected whether genes were switched on or off, raising fresh concerns air pollution may harm male fertility. Continue reading...

Bees respond to tasty treats or plain water based on context, a study that may provide support for establishing insect sentience showsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen bumblebees taste something good, they reach out their glossa – or insect tongue – for a while afterwards, almost as if they are licking their lips. And when they don’t like something, the insects will shake their heads and wipe their mouths.Scientists who captured the miniature facial expressions on s

Tour de France spectator ban as country along with Spain, Portugal and Greece faces ‘powder keg’ after heatwaveEurope live – latest updatesWildfires 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 Port

Babies exposed to higher levels of neurotoxin more likely to have difficulty controlling impulses later, research showsExposure to common air pollution may cause childhood obesity because it affects children’s ability to control impulse, new first-of-its-kind peer-reviewed research finds.Particular matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is a neurotoxin that has been linked to obesity, and Mt Sinai researchers say they have for the first time identified impulse control as a potential pathway. The study found that ba

Workers proud of their efforts to grow renewable energy say US president pursuing ‘personal vendetta’ at their expenseDonald Trump has blamed everything – from “national security” issues, the deaths of birds and whales, and cancer – in his decades-long campaign against windfarms. But as the Trump administration continues to undermine the industry, what worries workers most are their jobs.Since taking office for a second term, Trump has issued an executive order aiming to halt all wind-energy lea

More than 20 states reported temperatures above 100F as heat dome sits over eastern US during holiday weekendAt least 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 stifling temperatures more than 10

Huge numbers of blackchin tilapia, a fish native to west Africa, are wreaking havoc among Thailand’s river ecosystems. Experts – and some chefs – are seeking sustainable solutionsThe menu at Kor-Tae seafood restaurant, in Thailand’s Samut Prakan province, is filled with Thai classics – from tom yum talay, a fragrant hot and sour soup, to spicy larb salads. But the restaurant’s chef is also experimenting with a more controversial ingredient: blackchin tilapia.“People are hesitant, but once they t

This summer, Yosemite national park has been rife with traffic jams and throngs of visitors. Can these popular national treasures withstand a future of strained resources?On a crisp, sunny morning at the end of June, dappled light filtered through the canopy of an ancient grove of giant sequoias, casting a tranquil backdrop for a mule deer as it ambled across the trail. Families from around the world gazed up at the towering trees in awe, speaking in hushed tones and different languages.Experien

Shifting demands and political ideology have left the industry vulnerable to global competition from cheap Chinese carsEarlier this month, an intriguing new Detroit-based electric vehicle startup hit the market – Slate Auto, a Jeff Bezos-backed venture offering something US buyers rarely see these days – a pick up truck billed as “affordable”.Its base price is $24,950, making it one of the lowest-cost autos in the US market and close to half the price of the average new vehicle. But as the US co

In Jamestown, Virginia, one of the most important places in American history is in a race against time from rising watersSean Romo stops digging the moment he sees a faint line emerge in the sandy Virginia soil.It’s just a slight change in color, but to Romo, director of archaeology for Jamestown Rediscovery, it may be another piece of America’s origin story.Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and communicators who research and report the facts about our changing climate and ho

An eight-month expedition will set off soon from Norway on a mission to find new species before the climate crisis and pollution changes the northern ocean for everSix scientists and six crew will travel next month to Kirkenes, a remote Arctic town in Norway near the Russian border, to begin an odyssey to one of the most inhospitable, inaccessible and least-studied regions on Earth. There, they will climb onboard a futuristic, floating laboratory – the French-built Tara polar station.They will e

As bird flu reshapes agriculture, small farms operate under strict rules. Just a single case could tank their businessJoshua Beebe often starts his day by cleaning the tires of trucks and cars entering his poultry farm.“We spray them off and scrub them with a brush. It’s a precaution; the goal is to eliminate as many potential avenues for a pathogen to enter as possible,” said the owner of Tardif Poultry Farm, located in the Connecticut countryside east of Hartford. Continue reading...

Analysis says expansion could also harm access to housing, education, healthcare, open spaces and transportConstruction of a third runway at Heathrow is likely to have significant adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of up to 3 million people living nearby, an official report has said, as the government launched the next stage of its rapid airport expansion plan.An analysis for the Department for Transport has found that expanding London’s hub airport could have “major adverse” impacts on

‘Mastermind’ Dawie Groenewald given fine of 2m rand or four-year jail term almost 16 years after arrestTwo traffickers of rhino horns have been sentenced by a South African court in what police said was the world’s largest such case, partly bringing to an end an almost two-decade legal saga.Dawie Groenewald and Tielman Erasmus had faced more than 1,700 charges ranging from illegally hunting and dehorning rhinos to racketeering and money laundering. Continue reading...

A prospecting company’s search for gold has the town of Lone Pine and Indigenous leaders on edge, as the Trump administration greenlights new projects across the American westLone Pine, population 1,882, lies along a stretch of California highway framed by the vast Inyo mountains and a sweeping desert landscape of sagebrush and dunes.It’s the type of small town tourists drive through en route to Death Valley; where hikers get a motel room between Pacific Crest Trail treks. But amid the quiet dow

Top 10% generate climate and biodiversity damage bill that exceeds economies of most countries, say researchersThe environmental damage bill racked up by the highest-consuming 10% of the world’s population has reached up to $5.7tn a year – larger than the economy of every country except the US and China, a study has found.Mega-consumers in this group are concentrated in the global north, accounting for more than half the population of the US and 40-45% of people in the EU. Continue reading...

Federal agency to use herbicide to clear lands for replanting after 2021 Caldor fire – but public reaction to plan is fierceKatherine Levy remembers a childhood deeply rooted in the natural offerings of Lake Tahoe – water-skiing in the summer and working as ski instructor on the surrounding snow-covered mountains during winter months.She recently moved back to live out her retirement along the lake’s north shore. But she doesn’t like what she has found upon her return: a US government plan to sp

Generator’s shares rise as regulator finds no evidence of misleading statements about fuel’s sustainabilityBusiness live – latest updatesThe City watchdog has closed an investigation into the owner of the Drax power plant after an almost 10-month review into whether the company’s sustainability claims mislead shareholders.The Financial Conduct Authority said it had “reviewed thousands of pages” of “complex material” relating to the company’s sourcing of wood pellets for the Drax power plant in S

More than half of Ayetoro – a Christian utopia founded in the 1940s – has been lost to the ocean, and its remaining people are running out of optionsIn the early hours of 15 February 2019, the Atlantic Ocean came for Arowo Victoria’s livelihood. The 60-year-old retired midwife was asleep when neighbours began banging on her door, shouting that the sea had started covering buildings along the nearby coastline.By the time she got to her small shop, she discovered that the Atlantic had already swep