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Victoria's new plan to control feral horses aims to remove up to 400 a year from the eastern Alps. But without considering aerial culling, the plan seems unlikely to get to grips with the problem. Don Driscoll, Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The tanker is carrying more than 100,000 tonnes of condensate, which is highly toxic and much more explosive than regular crude oil.

Readers respond to the government’s pledge of £5.7m towards the creation of a northern forest stretching from Liverpool to Hull, and to a report on agroforestry

The government’s tossing a few million towards a grand £500m “northern forest” (Government pledges £5.7m for northern forest, 8 January) is an example of the puny tokenism operating today, where acts of vandalism against our precious environment, such as HS2, can be so casually “offset”. HS2 is a folly, the stubborn imposition of a luxury fairground ride built over never-to-be-seen-again landscapes.

Improve what we have, protect the things that are good around us, cancel HS2. And for sure, plant some more trees (and not just pine and spruce, please – we don’t want more Forestry Commission-style bland industrial forestry). There are thousands of acres of aristocratic grouse-shooting estates all over the North Pennines and North Yorkshire, where trees are not allowed because they spoil all the fun of the chase. Wonderful places to plant some new trees, if the Tories really are suddenly into tree-planting.
Catherine Francis
Skipton, North Yorkshire

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Charging point manufacturer’s CEO warns that UK power grid needs to handle expected 9m electric vehicles by 2030

The UK should speed up preparations for the rise of electric vehicles, according to the chief executive of ABB, the world’s largest supplier of fast-charging points.

Speaking as the Switzerland-based engineering firm became the first official sponsor of the electric street racing series Formula E, Ulrich Spiesshofer predicted a flood of consumer take-up of plug-in cars.

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Who is the new man in charge of higher education in England?

Green sea turtles' gender is temperature dependent and there are now too many females.

Enter your postcode to see what the air quality is like where you are.

Exclusive: compliance committee considers complaint alleging government breached Aarhus convention by not consulting public over withdrawal bill

The British government may have breached a major “environmental democracy” law by failing to consult the public when drawing up Brexit legislation.

A UN-backed committee has confirmed it is considering a complaint from Friends of the Earth that the government’s EU withdrawal bill breached the Aarhus convention, which requires public consultation on any new environmental law.

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A final batch order is raised for the Ariane 5 - the workhorse European rocket of the last 20 years.

Tourists are flocking to see the giant water lilies, which locals had thought were extinct.

Norishige Kanai says he is worried he will not be able fit in his Soyuz seat for the return to Earth.

Volunteers from the Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown organisation hose down heat stressed koala bears in the searing Australian heat. Temperatures have reached 47C causing exhaustion and dehydration

• Hundreds of flying foxes die in searing Australian heat

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We can’t accurately predict solar activity, and a quiet solar cycle would have a small impact on Earth’s climate anyway

Roughly every two years we’re treated to headlines repeating the myth that Earth is headed for an imminent “mini ice age.” It happened in 2013, 2015, and again just recently at the tail end of 2017.

This time around, the myth appears to have been sparked by a Sky News interview with Northumbria University mathematics professor Valentina Zharkova. The story was quickly echoed by the Daily Mail, International Business Times, Sputnik News, Metro, Tru News, and others. Zharkova was also behind the ‘mini ice age’ stories in 2015, based on her research predicting that the sun will soon enter a quiet phase.

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Almost a decade in the making, it sets out how seas should be used and protected in the next 20 years.

The Natural History Museum has chosen 24 of the best images from its Wildlife photographer of the year competition shortlist. Members of the public can vote for their favourite by 5 February 2018.

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Waltham Brooks, West Sussex A burst of loud, profane whistles announce the presence of a Cetti’s warbler, darting through the rushes in search of food

The early morning rain has lifted but there is still damp in the air. Konik ponies watch me between their mouthfuls of grass as I make my slow way through the dark, water-logged mud. The small, brown horses – descendants of the wild Tarpans that once roamed Europe – are a hardy, self-sufficient breed, perfectly adapted to grazing wetlands. They are used increasingly by conservation bodies in the UK, as here by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, to control young trees, shrubs and plants that would otherwise grow and dominate habitat like this. The ponies’ grazing clears channels and pools, opens up patches of grass, and creates new opportunities for diverse species of plants, insects, birds and animals to thrive.

Related: Hoof hardy in the snow

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Manufacturing ban means the tiny beads which harm marine life can no longer be used in cosmetics and personal care products

Plastic microbeads can no longer be used in cosmetics and personal care products in the UK, after a long-promised ban came into effect on Tuesday. The ban initially bars the manufacture of such products and a ban on sales will follow in July.

Thousands of tonnes of plastic microbeads from products such as exfoliating face scrubs and toothpastes wash into the sea every year, where they harm wildlife and can ultimately be eaten by people. The UK government first pledged to ban plastic microbeads in September 2016, following a US ban in 2015.

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BBC to review policy of allowing ivory items on the show amid criticism from a wildlife campaigner.

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Despite costing up to $4.5bn, the feasibility study for ‘Australia’s biggest battery’ finds it would still be economically viable

Australians would pay more for electricity and have more volatile supply if the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydropower project is not built, Josh Frydenberg has said.

The energy and environment minister has strongly argued for the necessity of the scheme in an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Review, despite the feasibility study revealing that its estimated cost had blown out by more than $2bn to between $3.8bn and $4.5bn.

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