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Seed banks around the world aim to preserve the genetic basis of plant life in order to help humans adapt to future global climate change. We talk with several people involved in such endeavours, and we also meet American David Milarch who gives us a lesson in how to clone a giant Californian Redwood.

East coast residents have derided the severe storm warnings as ‘a load of rubbish’

Police and Environment Agency officials today defended their decision to warn tens of thousands of people living near the east coast of England to leave their homes because they were at risk of flooding.

Thousands were evacuated on Friday after the Environment Agency issued 17 severe weather warnings – which warn of danger to life – with people living in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex told they were most at risk.

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SpaceX successfully launches a rocket, its first mission since an explosion in September.

With former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson poised to lead US foreign policy, activists like Peter Willcox, skipper of the Rainbow Warrior, are needed more than ever. But are they losing their nerve?

Dawn was breaking when the campaigners used slingshots to fire ropes on to the rig. But as they began to scale the Prirazlomnaya, aiming to unfurl a banner denouncing Russia’s attempts to drill for oil in the Arctic, their hopes of another successful Greenpeace “action” swiftly faded. They had been anticipating high-pressure hoses that sprayed freezing seawater at intruders. They weren’t prepared for balaclava-wearing soldiers shooting at their inflatable boats.

One soldier grabbed the rope used by one of the climbers, slamming her body repeatedly against the rig. They captured two other activists. Then the Russians demanded to board the Greenpeace ship. But the Arctic Sunrise’s captain, Peter Willcox, fearing his boat would be seized, resisted.

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Airedale, West Yorkshire A book from a century ago tells me when I might hear the ‘spring’ songs of each common songbird

The robin has uncorked its spring song. This one – a male, I suspect, giving it some welly in the upper reaches of a bare horse chestnut – is the loudest, the fullest, I’ve heard so far.

David Lack, the author of the landmark 1943 study The Life of the Robin, wrote that its autumn song was “thinner and less rich” than its spring reprise. In autumn, robins are more likely to mutter, to essay half-hearted impersonations of other birds, to engage in circling, absent-minded vocalisations known as sub-song, like a man whistling idly to himself as he walks in the woods.

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The US SpaceX rocket company hopes to resume operations after a launch pad explosion in September.

On the shorelines of the Yellow Sea, eight million shorebirds are probing the sediment for food, but their bellies are empty. Could their epic migration end here on this barren mudflat?

As the protest against the Carmichael project – Australia’s largest proposed coalmine – moves beyond the courts and into the realm of civil disobedience, activists have a clear warning: ‘If you’re in bed with Adani, you’re a target’

Across Australia a secretive network of activists are laying the groundwork for what they expect will be the biggest environmental protest movement in the country’s history.

Of course this won’t materialise if Adani and the rest of the miners proposing to open up one of the world’s biggest coalfields walk away from Queensland’s Galilee basin first.

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A former sugar cane farm in the Daintree region in far north Queensland is being returned to the forest. A 15-hectare site is being replanted with rainforest trees. Further north in Torres Strait islanders are being encouraged to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

Afghan refugees are happy to call Shepparton home; training up the next generation of jackeroos and jillaroos; we cruise Wilson Inlet with fisherman George Ebbett; and give baby crocs a helping hand into the world.

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

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Fighting meerkats, a posing leopard and rescued turtles are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

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The trade in caged birds poses a risk to native species if birds manage to escape, research suggests.

Langstone, Hampshire As the sparrowhawk swoops, corvids explode into the air like a firework starburst

It is the hour before sunset and the paddock is bathed in liquid gold light. Heavy rain and frost melt have saturated the soil and the turf is pockmarked with hoofprint craters. The horses’ coats and feathered fetlocks are caked with mud the colour of wet concrete. Huddling round an old tractor tyre stuffed with hay, they jostle each other for the best stalks.

Related: Birdwatch: Sparrowhawk

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The Australian Petroleum Statistics provide statistics on petroleum production, refinery inputs and outputs, sales and stocks of petroleum products, and prices.

Nominations are invited for species, ecological communities or key threatening processes to be considered for listing under national environment law during the assessment period starting 1 October 2017. ...

Actor Jane Fonda criticises Justin Trudeau while speaking in Edmonton on Wednesday, saying the Canadian prime minister ‘betrayed’ what he committed to in the Paris climate talks. Fonda says people should not be fooled by ‘good-looking liberals’ such as Trudeau, who disappointed her by approving pipelines from the Alberta oil sands

• Jane Fonda: don’t fall for ‘good-looking liberals’ like Trudeau on environment
  

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Canadian prime minister ‘betrayed’ what he committed to in Paris climate talks and ‘disappointed’ her by approving oil pipelines, political activist and actor said

Actor Jane Fonda has said that people should not be fooled by “good-looking liberals” such as the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who “disappointed” her by approving pipelines from the Alberta oil sands.

Fonda said after touring the oil sands area that environmentalists everywhere were impressed by Trudeau at the Paris climate conference in late 2015.

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Pets suffer just as badly as their humans in the heat. Robert Occhialini/Flickr, CC BY-NC

As the weather heats up, Australian households won’t just be cranking up the air conditioning for themselves. Some households will be turning it on for their dogs or cats.

Our research on energy demand and household cooling highlights a recent trend towards air-conditioning rooms or homes for pets. As well as cooling homes occupied by both humans and their furry friends, air conditioners may be left on when dogs or cats are home alone.

Some pet owners also leave doors and windows open for their dogs and cats to move between indoor and outdoor areas. This means that air conditioners have to work harder and use more energy to maintain indoor temperatures.

Our research is consistent with an emerging international trend towards the “humanisation of pets”, which is contributing to energy use in households.

A 2013 study released by E.ON UK (a UK power company) on “hot-dogs and thermo-cats” found that more than half (52%) of UK pet owners turn up the heating for their pets when they go out. Some UK households also leave radios or televisions on for pets so that they don’t get lonely when their owners leave the home.

In other areas of everyday life, cats and dogs now play iPad games, eat specialised diets, have heated mats or air-conditioned kennels, and have their own fashion accessories and electronic toys.

The energy impacts of home cooling

On average across Australia, heating and cooling make up 40% of our energy use in households, not including hot water.

Most Australians who live in southern states use cooling in their homes sporadically, turning it on during hot summer afternoons and evenings when they get home from work or other activities. The rapid growth in residential air conditioning for this purpose has been one of the main contributors to Australia’s peak electricity demand, which has increased energy bills.

Not doing too much is a great way to keep pets cool. Cat image from www.shutterstock.com

Trends in pet cooling could change the energy demand for cooling in homes. Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, with 63% of households keeping an animal as a pet.

According to a 2013 report by the Animal Health Alliance, there are 4.2 million pet dogs and 3.3 million pet cats in Australia. Of these, 76% of dogs and 92% of cats are kept exclusively or partly indoors.

Providing air conditioning for pets during the day when people aren’t at home would raise residential energy demand. It could also extend and possibly increase electricity peaks if more areas of the property (such as kennels or garages) are being cooled for a longer time.

What makes pets hot?

Although cats and dogs differ in their physiology, in general older, sick or overweight pets may be less resilient to the heat. Some breeds may also be more vulnerable than others.

For example, short-snout dog breeds (Bulldogs, Pekes and Pugs) are more likely to suffer from heatstroke. This also applies to short-faced cats like Persians or exotics.

Many things can exacerbate heat stress for pets. For example, people living in apartments may find it more difficult to provide cool outdoor spaces for dogs, or to engage in “waterplay”, as recommended by Pets Australia.

How to keep pets cool

Advice on how to keep pets cool varies and is different for cats and dogs. Pets Australia recommends providing cool spaces such as shade, cold tiles or digging holes in the soil. Other examples include giving dogs cool treats like frozen meat, providing lots of water for hydration and stopping exercise.

Some websites recommend keeping pets inside on hot days, preferably with an air conditioner or fan turned on. Other sites recommend cooling mats or vests such as gel pads, which can be refrigerated or frozen prior to use.

Sometimes you just need a dip. Pamala Wilson/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Murdoch University provides advice on how to recognise heatstroke warning signs, and what to do if you suspect your pet is suffering from heatstroke. The growing market for pet cameras is one way to keep an eye on pets while owners are out of the house.

What needs to be done?

As climate change continues to increase the severity and duration of heat waves, the incidence of heatstroke in pets is likely to increase too. This applies especially to those living in energy-inefficient housing or with access to poor-quality outdoor environments.

There is a clear need to seriously consider pet cooling in the design of energy-efficient housing and in energy policy that targets households.

It may also be timely to reconsider pet types and breeds appropriate for the Australian climate. Siberian huskies, for example, prefer cooler climates and may be more likely to suffer from heatstroke than breeds with smooth or short coats.

More research is also needed to understand how Australian households are changing the ways they keep their pets cool, and what can be done to reduce heat stress in pets without increasing energy demand or electricity peaks in homes.

In the meantime there is a range of advice on how to keep pets cool. Many creative solutions are available that don’t require leaving the air conditioner running.

Yolande Strengers currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Energy Consumers Australia and the Victorian Council of Social Services. She is a member of the Australian Sociological Association (TASA).

Cecily Maller receives funding from the Australian Government and in the past has received funding from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) and the Victorian Government. She is a member of the Institute of Australian Geographers and The Australian Sociological Association (TASA).

Larissa Nicholls receives research funding from Energy Consumers Australia and the Victorian Council of Social Service.

George Monbiot makes many good points (Farmers fear life outside the EU, but it could mean a rebirth for rural Britain, 11 January), including free markets’ impact on small farmers whose incomes fall in times of plenty. He could have said more on food security. Climate change, including gas escapes from frozen deposits, is a growing threat but pests, diseases, routine weather and even large volcanic eruptions (eg Tambora, 1815) can create havoc. So who is actually responsible for food security, here or abroad?

“Britain can always import” is the reply despite a falling pound, but a recent Russian drought caused a grain export ban which could spread if global supplies struggled. Fisheries are exhausted, good British land is vanishing under development, yet nobody wants the bill for food storage. Instead surplus food yields quick profits via livestock feed, biofuels, brewing or even cosmetics.

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