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In Utah, federal land opponent reverses stance on drilling near Zion national park
In a change of tone, Utah governor Gary Herbert has backpedaled and asked the federal government not to allow oil and gas drilling around the famous park
When Utah governor Gary Herbert changed his mind last week and decided oil and gas companies should not be allowed to drill near Zion national park, it seemed like a remarkable change of tone.
The Republican has been a staunch advocate for rolling back public land protections and had earlier endorsed the idea of drilling near the 229 sq mile park. In February, he signed a resolution urging Donald Trump to rescind national monument status for the 1.3m acres known as Bears Ears in south-eastern Utah. Doing so would allow expansion of current leases for oil and gas development and grazing.
Continue reading...Thank you: with your help, we raised $50,000 to cover America's public lands
In just 31 hours, Guardian US exceeded its target to support a new series on the threat to America’s public lands. We’d like to thank you for your generosity
We would like to extend a huge thank you to the more than 1,000 Guardian readers who made contributions to support This Land is Your Land, our series on the threat to America’s public lands. We launched our fundraising campaign on Monday morning, and hit our $50,000 goal at 1pm Tuesday, just 31 hours after the launch. When this article was published we had exceeded our goal by 20%, with $60,166 pledged. More than 1,000 readers have contributed.
Continue reading...Discovery of 300,000-year-old fossils rewrites origins of our species
Winds of change: gusts across Europe help set renewable power record
Nuclear, wind and solar power in UK generate more electricity than gas and coal combined for first time ever
The windy weather across Europe in the past 24 hours may have been a curse for summer picnics, but it has set records for renewable power.
Related: 'Spectacular' drop in renewable energy costs leads to record global boost
Continue reading...'First of our kind' found in Morocco
Whiskey, with a peacock chaser: bird smashes up US liquor store – video
A peacock which found its way into a Californian liquor store causes hundreds of dollars of damage before an animal control officer and the store manager are able to capture it
Continue reading...How can humans and elephants better coexist?
The human-elephant conflict plays a huge role in the rapid decline elephant numbers. A panel of experts share ideas on how to mitigate this problem
We need conservation (not just fighting the illegal wildlife trade which has captured the limelight more recently) to be far higher up the political agenda. For example, we in the UK could be much more effectively linking overseas aid (budget of £12bn this year) to poverty relief, sustainable development and environmental protection, ecosystem services and conservation priorities. Will Travers, president, Born Free Foundation
Continue reading...Electric cars accelerate past 2m mark globally
China, US and Europe accounted for more than 90% of electric vehicle sales last year with decreasing costs driving demand
The number of electric cars in the world accelerated past the 2m barrier last year, as prices fell and manufacturers launched new models.
The number of battery-powered vehicles numbered just hundreds globally in 2005 and passed the 1m milestone in 2015, but sales jumped 60% in 2016.
Rare US floods to become the norm if emissions aren't cut, study warns
- Princeton-Rutgers study finds sharp increase in risk of frequent deluges
- ‘Many cities are behind the eight-ball in terms of preparing for flooding’
US coastal areas are set to be deluged by far more frequent and severe flooding events if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t slashed, with rare floods becoming the norm for places such as New York City, Seattle and San Diego, new research has found.
Related: Climate change progress at Trump's EPA is grinding to a halt, workers reveal
Continue reading...A tax on meat
Paris pollution victim sues France for bad air
A field guide to the spiders of Australia
Antarctic Halley base waits on ice behaviour
British ice station on the move
Demand for elephant skin, trunk and penis drives rapid rise in poaching in Myanmar
A growth in demand for elephant parts to be used in traditional medicine in Asia means the number of elephants being killed in Myanmar is rising
Case files and laminated photos of poachers spill out of captain Than Naing’s folder. As the chief of police in Okekan township, one of Myanmar’s recent poaching hotspots, he is trying to track down the men who have killed at least three elephants in the area over the past year. So far, he has arrested 11 people suspected of having assisted the poachers. Meanwhile the poachers themselves remain at large.
“These are the two men who we believe killed one of the elephants,” he says, pointing to two photos. “They are still on the run.”
Continue reading...Mizen to Malin by bike in six days – Ireland's Land's End to John O'Groats
Mizen Head to Malin Head is a 510-mile trip that takes in the breathtaking Maumturk Mountains, the empty beaches of Cork and Kerry, and the wilderness of the Burren
Send anyone to the west coast of Ireland and they will fall in love with it at some point. For me it was at a junction in Maum, County Galway, where I had stopped to take a photo of a signpost but ended up having my breath taken away by the Maumturk Mountains in all their pastoral, sunlit glory.
Continue reading...The Greens would ditch Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant | Damian Carrington
Guardian experts give their view on the main parties’ public service manifesto pledges. Here, our environment editor looks at energy, pollution and recycling
• Denis Campbell on health
• David Brindle on social care
• Patrick Butler on social security
• Dawn Foster on housing
• Anna Bawden on local government
• Frances Ryan on disability
• Alan Travis on criminal justice and immigration
• Jane Dudman on the civil service
• Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
New support for fracking to extract shale and coal seam gas is the most striking pledge from the Conservatives, with the easing of planning rules, a new dedicated regulator and more of any future tax revenues going directly to communities hosting shale gas sites. Wind power remains ruled out in England, but offshore wind farms are supported. The energy efficiency of all fuel-poor homes would be upgraded to meet energy performance certificate (EPC) band C criteria by 2030. There is no environment section in the manifesto and the UK’s air pollution crisis gets a single sentence: “We will take action against poor air quality in urban areas.” A free vote on repealing the ban on fox hunting with dogs is promised.
Continue reading...Crocodile captures soar in Darwin as wet season boosts waterways
66% spike in captures as bumper wet season connects major river systems in Northern Territory, allowed deadly reptiles to move around more freely
The number of crocodiles caught in the Top End has soared after Territorians endured the third wettest wet season on record.
There’s been a 66% spike in crocodile captures around Darwin and Katherine in the past year, the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission says.
AGL to build fast-start generator to replace 50yo gas plants
The footballer hoverfly is a little fist of bling
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire The stripy sun fly joins the summer swarm of insects to the opening of the festival of flowers
The sun fly alights on a bramble leaf and alters its position as if by the clockwise clicks of an invisible dial. Gold on black, black on gold, it radiates. The sun fly is one of the syrphid flies, a hoverfly of rough flowery places such as this verge of a long-abandoned railway line through the woods.
It’s a chunky little fist of bling, folding up a cut-glass wingspan of 25mm. Its thorax is black with three vertical yellow stripes – which has earned it the nickname of the footballer or the common tiger hoverfly. It presents a regal, black-banded backside of an abdomen with crescentic yellow markings like the folded gold of Saxon hoards.
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