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Our special landscapes are cultural constructs, says Tom Greeves. And public authorities need to think more about urban green spaces, says Ann Sharrock

Michael Gove needs to be careful in his choice of vocabulary about national parks (England may get more national parks after Gove announces review, 28 May). His review suggests that it is part of a process to enhance protection of “natural” landscapes and habitats. But our English national parks and all areas being considered for designation are equally cultural landscapes created by some 10,000 years of human presence, also needing protection. He should beware the fashionable concept of “natural capital” without balancing it with one of “cultural capital”. And he should be aware that our existing parks are the least democratic part of the English local government system, having no directly elected members. New designations balancing nature and culture, and with direct elections, might be welcomed – otherwise our special landscapes will be no better off.
Tom Greeves
Chairman, The Dartmoor Society

• Michael Gove should develop and support the people who live and work in areas with poor-quality green infrastructure. While supporting and developing statutory designated sites is laudable, it is unlikely to offer direct positive benefits for urban and suburban dwellers not within easy access of such sites. Biodiverse habitats are not restricted to statutory designated sites and should be developed and nurtured as community assets providing recreation, education, physical and mental health benefits, and climate regulation. Failure to develop and set aside green spaces in our towns and cities shows the unwillingness of public authorities to invest in spaces which do not give an easily quantifiable cash return, despite progress in including natural capital assets in an economic framework.
Ann Sharrock
Stockport

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Scientists say the findings have major implications for predicting our future climate

An invisible layer of scum on the sea surface can reduce carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and the oceans by up to 50%, scientists have discovered.

Researchers from Heriot-Watt, Newcastle and Exeter universities say the findings, published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Monday, have major implications for predicting our future climate.

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Brussels proposes ban on plastic straws and cutlery and calls out Brexiter Michael Gove

Brussels has challenged the UK’s environment secretary, Michael Gove, to try to outdo it in an environmental “race to the top” as it proposed a ban on plastic straws, cutlery, plates, cotton buds and balloon sticks.

Frans Timmermans, the European commission’s first vice-president, directly addressed Gove, a fervent Brexiter, as he unveiled details of the planned prohibition, along with measures designed to reduce the use of plastic takeaway containers and drinking cups.

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South Korean carbon permits rose another 2.8% on Monday to add to the 6-month highs hit last week, but the move was on the back of tiny trades as transaction volumes fell.

Charity FareShare is feeding almost a quarter of a million people a week with food that would otherwise go to waste – a 60% rise since last year

The UK’s largest food redistribution charity is helping to feed a record 772,000 people a week – 60% more than the previous year – with food that would otherwise be wasted, new figures reveal.

One in eight people in the UK go hungry every day – with the most needy increasingly dependent on food banks – yet perfectly good food is wasted every day through the food production supply chain.

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There is no way to effectively administer fertility control to thousands of horses scattered through a huge national park meaning population growth will only be limited as they run out of food Andrea Harvey, Veterinary Specialist, PhD scholar (wild horse ecology & welfare), University of Technology Sydney Carolynne Joone, James Cook University Jordan Hampton, Adjunct Lecturer, Murdoch University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

1 June 1918: It was a small field, hand-mown; swathes were heavy, deadening the sweep of scythes, but tall wild parsley, oat-grass spiked almost like corn

Surrey
The morning sun was yet red on the horizon and mist hung above the lower meadows when the first mowing of grass began. Scent came across the lane fresher and sweeter than the odour from the thorns. It was a small field, hand-mown; swathes were heavy, deadening the sweep of scythes, but tall wild parsley, oat-grass spiked almost like corn, and thicker fescue all lay low, while the larks went up singing. In the wood hard by other birds started together, finches on the lower branches, throstles on the high boughs; a jay cluttered where the grove is thick, a cuckoo called, then, showing as big as a hawk, flew to the other side. The air was so slight as not to sway even the light stems of birch trees; when a bird settled after flying the bough was set in motion like a swing, and there was so much flitting to and fro that the trees everywhere, even oaks in full leaf, were visibly alive.

Related: Scythe talking: The tool that could revolutionise your garden

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Families face pressure to decide the fate of their relatives’ grave, dividing the community of Azacualpa where as many as 350 bodies have already been exhumed

Nothing is sacred in the path of gold miners in northwestern Honduras – not even the dead.

A transnational mining company, Aura Minerals, has been digging up graves in the 200-year-old cemetery near the community of Azacualpa, La Union, to clear the way to dig for gold.

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ACCC chair says Australia's "excessive focus on generation reliability" could wind up costing consumers more, in same way as network gold plating.

Plans for new wind and solar projects are abundant. But how many will actually go ahead? Plus: wind versus solar in the NEM.

Flood waters and heavy rain has completely submerged the main street of the historic Ellicott City in Maryland. Authorities were assessing the damage after the flood waters swept away parked cars on Sunday.

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Endangered species can thrive in habitats other than forests, paving way for their return

Eighty years after they were hunted to extinction, the successful reintroduction of a herd of wild European bison onto the dunes of the Dutch coast is paving the way for their return across the continent.

The largest land-living animal in Europe was last seen in the Netherlands centuries ago, and was wiped out on the continent by 1927. Despite successful efforts to breed the species again in the wilds of Poland in the 1950s, and renewed efforts in the last decade in western Europe, the European bison remains as endangered as the black rhino.

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Allume Energy has switched on its first suburban shared solar system that allows PV electricity to be distributed and billed to individual tenants, for 30% less than grid costs.

Sungrow Power has launched its next generation suite of inverter and battery storage technology in Australia, including the 4.8kWh lithium-ion PowCube.

Hyundai Heavy Industries re-enters Australian solar market, with $70m vote of confidence in residential and commercial rooftop solar boom.

Redflow technology chief and Tesla owner says governments need to move beyond fossil fuel "idiocy" and get smart about EVs and storage.

LONGi Solar announced that China General Certification Center has validated that LONGi Solar's 60-cell bifacial shingling module achieved a front-side conversion efficiency of 20.66%, the highest in the world to date.

Within 10 years, the only ICE vehicles of any value will be rare classics from the days when Australian’s loved their cars. Here's why.

Scientists have tried to measure how dolphins at a French marine park feel about their environment.

Scientists have tried to measure how dolphins at a French marine park feel about their environment.