The Guardian
Prairie planting takes root in UK as gardeners battle drought and floods
Creator of winning garden at Hampton Court flower show says US plants are ideal for changing climate
Years of hot dry summers parching lawns and killing off prize blooms have caused many gardeners to switch to using gravel and Mediterranean herbs, trees and shrubs.
But a newly fashionable style of planting known as prairie planting could be a way to maintain a lush garden that is good for wildlife, while withstanding drought and floods.
Continue reading...Will El Niño on top of global heating create the perfect climate storm?
Rising temperatures in north Atlantic and drop in Antarctic sea ice prompt fears of widespread damage from extreme weather
“Very unusual”, “worrying”, “terrifying”, and “bonkers”; the reactions of veteran scientists to the sharp increase in north Atlantic surface temperatures over the past three months raises the question of whether the world’s climate has entered a more erratic and dangerous phase with the onset of an El Niño event on top of human-made global heating.
Since April, the warming appears to have entered a new trajectory. Meanwhile the area of global sea ice has dropped by more than 1 million sq km below the previous low.
Continue reading...Prince William to expand Duchy of Cornwall’s temperate rainforest
Aim is to at least double size of Wistman’s Wood, a 3 hectare fragment of ancient woodland on Dartmoor, by 2040
Prince William plans to double the size of a tiny fragment of rainforest on his Dartmoor estate, the Duchy of Cornwall has announced.
Wistman’s Wood is one of Britain’s remaining ancient “temperate rainforests”, brought into the public eye after environmental campaigner Guy Shrubsole’s bestselling book on the subject.
Continue reading...A grieving whale and airborne elephants: Environmental Photography award winners
The winners have been announced in the third edition of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Environmental Photography award. They are being exhibited in Monaco on the Promenade du Lavotto, before touring internationally
Continue reading...Whale calf spotted off NSW south coast looks like rare albino humpback – video
A photographer captured drone footage of the whale calf, which looks like a rare albino humpback, off the coast of Guerilla Bay in NSW. If the calf is verified as an albino humpback, it will be only the second albino humpback ever seen along Australia’s east coast. The famous Migaloo, spotted in 1991, was the first
Humpback whale buried in NSW dunes after stranding on Seven Mile beach
Is that you, Migaloo? Tourist captures video of familiar-looking whale over Great Barrier Reef
Sriracha lovers feel the heat as hot sauce shortage continues
Drought in Mexico and depleting water supply in the Colorado River has led to a scarcity in red jalapeños, the key ingredient
Sriracha lovers everywhere are feeling the not so pleasant sting of the beloved hot sauce shortage, now in its second year. Drought in Mexico has resulted in a scarcity of chilli peppers – in particular, red jalapeños, the raw material of sriracha – leading Huy Fong Foods, the California-based maker of the iconic condiment, to scale back production.
“It is a challenging crop to grow,” said Stephanie Walker, a plant scientist at the New Mexico State University, who serves on the advisory board of the Chile Pepper Institute. “Jalapeños are really labor intensive, requiring people to de-stem them by hand before they go for processing.”
Continue reading...Now, water bosses, you must show how capitalism can work for the common good | Will Hutton
There is universal agreement that privatisation was never meant to result in news like this. Last week, the government announced it was on standby to take Thames Water – our biggest water company, serving 15 million people – into “special administration” as its £15bn of debt threatens to overwhelm it and its CEO resigned. What went so wrong? Is this proof that public ownership should immediately be restored?
After all, we’ve witnessed a litany of debacles, from the government’s takeover of TransPennine Express and electricity supplier Bulb to the creation of Great British Railways to integrate the fragmented management of the rail system. It’s safe to say that privatisation cannot be trumpeted as an unalloyed success.
Continue reading...Sunak U-turn on wind farms in England draws wrath of green Tories
Prime minister under fire as government backtracks on plan for more onshore turbines to keep voters on side
Rishi Sunak is facing mounting criticism for putting politics above the fight against climate change, amid clear signs that ministers are backtracking on plans to allow more onshore windfarms in England before a general election.
The Observer understands that a much-vaunted government consultation on ending what has in effect been a ban on new onshore wind projects will lead to a minimal relaxation of planning rules – because ministers do not want to anger potential Tory voters who oppose huge wind turbines in their neighbourhoods.
Continue reading...Humpback whale buried in NSW dunes after stranding on Seven Mile beach
Research suggests buried carcass unlikely to attract sharks so long as it is placed above water table and high tide mark
- Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
A 30-tonne humpback whale has been buried in the dunes behind where it beached and died on Seven Mile beach on the New South Wales mid-north coast.
The adult whale became stranded early on Saturday morning and, despite attempts by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to save it, died about 7pm.
Continue reading...Exclusive: UK water giants recruit top staff from regulator Ofwat
Demands for an end to the ‘revolving door’ as ex-Ofwat directors are hired by key firms
Two-thirds of England’s biggest water companies employ key executives who had previously worked at the watchdog tasked with regulating them, the Observer can reveal.
Cathryn Ross, the new interim joint chief executive of Thames Water and a former head of watchdog Ofwat, is one of several ex-employees working for water companies in senior roles such as strategy, regulation and infrastructure.
Continue reading...Just Stop Oil protesters disrupt London Pride over ‘polluting’ sponsors
Met police make arrests after activists block parade in Piccadilly by sitting in front of Coca-Cola truck
Just Stop Oil protesters have disrupted London’s Pride march in protest over the event accepting sponsorship money from “high-polluting industries”.
A number of protesters were arrested after blocking the road in front of a Coca-Cola truck.
Continue reading...Is Pride the right target for Just Stop Oil? Yes, when it’s letting our common enemy off the hook | James Greig
LGBTQ+ rights and the climate crisis are not separate, when the forces working against them are so often one and the same
Queer members of Just Stop Oil issued Pride in London with a set of demands this week, arguing that “the climate crisis is the biggest threat to LGBTQ+ rights, due to social collapse”. This comes after Pride faced accusations of “pinkwashing” over its decision to make United Airlines the headline sponsor of this year’s event.
Just Stop Oil is calling for transparency around which companies Pride in London accepts money from, and how these decisions are made; a statement from the organisers demanding an end to new oil and gas; and a public meeting with its volunteers about joining the fight for climate justice. Failure to meet these demands, Just Stop Oil suggested, “may or may not” result in protest action during Saturday’s event.
James Greig writes about culture and society
Continue reading...The tide is coming in fast on Rishi Sunak – and it’s full of sewage | Marina Hyde
The prime minister’s pledges to transform the country look about as rock steady as Thames Water’s balance sheets
Another busy week for Britain’s Ministry of Metaphor, as the country’s largest supplier of that luxury product “water” teeters on the brink of collapse. Thames Water has become the latest object lesson in the predictable and predicted folly of privatised monopolies, aided by a regulator that’s an even bigger wet wipe than the fatbergs bunging up the sewers. If you thought leveraged debt was bad when the Glazers did it with Manchester United, it’s possible you’ll find it even worse when water firms are holding you to a 40% bill hike if you simply want one of the essential building blocks of human life to come out of your tap. The companies have acted like cowboy builders who fleece unsuspecting customers for catastrophically poor work, and now want you to pay them huge sums again to fix it.
Back to them in a minute. For now, let’s rewind to early January this year, when the prime minister portentously unveiled his government’s five pledges. You may recall quite a lot of political experts explaining loftily that he had chosen these specific targets as they were actually not all that hard to achieve. As Rishi Sunak put it then: “Those are the people’s priorities. We will either have achieved them or not. No tricks, no ambiguity. We’re either delivering for you or we’re not.”
Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Blackpool zoo welcomes ‘very special baby’ orangutan
First Bornean orangutan to be born at the zoo in 20 years welcomed, with species facing extinction in the wild
An orangutan has been born at Blackpool zoo as part of efforts to save the dwindling species.
The new arrival is the first Bornean orangutan to be born at the zoo in 20 years, making him a “very special baby”, zookeepers said.
Continue reading...New report finds most US kale samples contain ‘disturbing’ levels of ‘forever chemicals’
PFAS was found in seven of eight samples bought at US stores, with organic kale containing higher levels of the toxic compounds
Seven out of eight US kale samples recently tested for toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” contained high levels of the compounds.
The testing looked at conventional and organic kale bought at grocery stores across the country, and comes after Food and Drug Administration analyses conducted between 2019 and 2021 found no PFAS contamination.
Continue reading...Climate groups accept millions from charity linked to fossil fuel investments
Exclusive: Quadrature Climate Foundation is run by billionaires whose fund has stakes worth $170m in fossil fuel firms
Some of the world’s best-known climate campaign groups have taken millions of pounds in donations from a foundation run by billionaire hedge fund bosses whose investment fund has invested in fossil fuel companies, the Guardian has learned.
Groups including the European Climate Foundation, the Carbon Tracker Initiative and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have taken millions of pounds in grants over the past two years from Quadrature Climate Foundation, according to filings with the Charity Commission. WWF told the Guardian on Tuesday it would investigate the donation.
Continue reading...Brick by brick: the British manufacturers building a better future for birds
It takes just under a minute to make a single swift brick that could house generations of migratory birds. So why isn’t it compulsory to install them in the UK?
At first, it is hard to spot. A small hole in the eaves is often all that can be seen. It’s only on closer inspection that a hollow brick can be discerned, slotted neatly into a wall. Inside might be a pair of nesting swifts that have travelled thousands of miles from Africa to the UK.
At Manthorpe Building Products’ factory in Derbyshire, it takes just under a minute to produce a single swift brick that could provide a safe haven for generations of these migratory birds. Granules of recycled plastic are put into an injection moulding machine and, moments later, the separate parts of the brick come out, before a worker snaps them together.
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including hungry gannets, spotted owlets and a baby mongoose
Continue reading...Watchdog criticises Defra for decade of stalled recycling rates in England
NAO report raises concerns about lack of long-term planning after take-up remained flat from 2011 to 2019
A public spending watchdog has criticised the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs amid concerns about a lack of long-term planning to tackle waste and boost recycling.
A 56-page report, published by the National Audit Office (NAO), found that household recycling rates in England had stalled over the last decade.
Continue reading...Low emission zones are improving health, studies show
Review of research finds particularly clear evidence that LEZs in cities reduce heart and circulatory problems
An increasing number of research studies are showing that low emission zones (LEZs) improve health.
More than 320 zones are operating across the UK, Europe and notably in Tokyo, Japan. These reduce air pollution across an area by curbing the number of highly polluting vehicles, normally older diesels. Schemes, including London’s ultra-low emission zone, can improve air quality. This should lead to improved health, but does this actually happen?
Continue reading...