The Guardian

Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry Roadsides are a riot of primary yellow, pinks and purples

This verdant isle is indeed a green gem, but for the visitor from eastern England the abundance of richly coloured flowers is the stand-out botanical feature of the west coast of Ireland.

Roadsides are a riot of primary yellow – bird’s foot trefoil, St John’s wort, ragwort and cat’s ear; pinks and purples – including common, bell and cross-leaved heather and whole hedges of fuchsia; whitish umbels of angelica, and big white and pink striped, flared trumpets of the roseata subspecies of large bindweed.

Solar energy, no sodium and organic fertiliser: how one of Australia’s biggest wineries is reducing waste while saving money and energy

One of Australia’s biggest family-owned wineries wants to become the country’s first zero-waste wine producer, and has invested more than $15m to achieve this goal.

De Bortoli Wines, which has wineries at four sites in two states, has already cut the amount of waste it disposes to landfill from 300 tonnes a year to 48 tonnes as part of a long-term sustainable business plan adopted in 2004.

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 28 July 1916

The ragwort is out on the sandhills, masses of handsome flowers above dense, dark green leaves, except where a colony of black and orange cinnabar caterpillars is defoliating the strong plants. Brighter even than the ragwort is the yellow-wort, each flower facing the sun above its stem-pierced leaves. Acres are plentifully sprinkled with yellow-worts, pink centauries, marsh helleborines with nodding mauve or purple white-lipped flowers, and grass of Parnassus with elegant white flowers delicately veined with grey. On the level stretches are considerable areas of solid pink, paler but more dainty than that of the centaury, for the small, short-stalked flowers of the bog pimpernel grow so close together as to hide their creeping leaves.

Over this floral wilderness a few terns still call harshly, for belated pairs, their earlier efforts having failed, yet hope to hatch their two or three mottled eggs. When, one day this week, we left the sandhills, we found scores of adult birds resting on the sands, and others offering small shining fish to the young they had tempted towards the sea; over the water beyond were many more beating up and down, hovering and diving. Suddenly, from the dunes behind, came a wild, angry clamour, and an Arctic skua, big and brown beside the dainty terns, came skimming towards the beach. Two or three irate terns followed it, and the resting birds on the shore got up in a flurried cloud. Heedless of this noisy multitude and their mobbing cries it singled out one with food in its coral bill and, twisting and dodging from side to side, chased it until the quarry was dropped. Had we been near enough we might have seen the skua stoop try catch the dropped fish before it reached the water, for that is the constant habit of this fierce aerial highway robber.

A fish familiar to Mediterranean fishermen can now be caught around Britain, from the south-west to the Hebrides

A favourite haunt of a newcomer to British shores, the grey triggerfish Balistes capriscus, is the seaside pier. For the holiday angler it could be quite a shock landing such an unfamiliar fish, and it will need caution. Triggerfish have small mouths but eight sharp teeth and strong jaws, useful for crushing the shells of mussels and other prey.

The increase in sea temperatures of around 1C in the last 30 years, caused by climate change, has attracted this and other newcomers more familiar to fishermen in Mediterranean countries. Unlike the octopus, which still seems confined to the southern half of Britain and Ireland, the grey triggerfish is moving north quite fast.

Charity begins local consultation on plan to introduce 10 Eurasian lynxes back into wild in north of England and southern Scotland

Lynx could soon be reintroduced to the north of England and southern Scotland as the charity campaigning for the return of the wild mammal, which was last seen across Britain around 700AD, launches its final stage of a consultation.

The project to introduce 10 Eurasian lynxes back into the wild, which has also considered sites in Aberdeenshire, will this week begin discussions with farmers and tourist operators around Kielder Forest in Northumberland.

One of the largest and oldest black churches in the US warns that black people are disproportionally harmed by global warming and fossil fuel pollution

African American religious leaders have added their weight to calls for action on climate change, with one of the largest and oldest black churches in the US warning that black people are disproportionally harmed by global warming and fossil fuel pollution.

The African Methodist Episcopal church has passed its first resolution in its 200-year history devoted to climate change, calling for a swift transition to renewable energy.

Buy organic cotton and you’ll help transform lives, communities, the environment, the world…

The textiles industry is revolting. It causes 10% of the planet’s carbon footprint, while the dyeing and treatment of textiles is responsible for 17% of all industrial water pollution. Cotton uses 3% of global water, and the damage from cotton farming is $83bn. This eco cost is partially offset by longevity: a bath sheet should be in service for 10 years. I’m serious. So I was distressed to hear that 4,000 Wimbledon towels had been nicked as souvenirs by players. I make an appeal to Djokovic, Williams, Murray et al: please keep them towels in service.

Every time you make a purchasing decision, you’re also making a production decision, so when you come to replace towels and bed linen, go for organic. Currently, just 1% of the world’s cotton is organic. Let’s get that higher. Growing organic cotton is a far more responsible use of farmable land and fresh water, than conventional. The Textile Exchange surveyed 82,000 hectares of land in 2014 and found reduced global-warming potential, lower soil erosion, less water use and less energy demand from organic, as opposed to conventional, cotton growers.

Paula Kahumbu: The conviction and sentencing of Feisal Mohammed Ali sends a message to poachers and traffickers that the net is closing around them

On Friday, a Mombasa law court sentenced Feisal Mohammed Ali to 20 years in jail after finding him guilty of ivory illegal possession of ivory worth 44 million shillings (US $440,000). The court also imposed a fine of 20 million shillings.

This landmark ruling by the Kenyan court is the end of a long story that began with the seizure of 2 tonnes of ivory at Fuji Motors car yard in Mombasa in June 2014.

Achvaneran, Highlands The only recourse was to do a ‘wildlife watch’, ignoring everything else and concentrating solely on what was around in nature

Walking down the garden to my study I could hear a single male curlew calling from the field. They had bred down below the house, but his partner and their offspring had already gone to the coast.

I eased open the curtains in front of my desk and knew that with the warm sunshine it would be difficult to concentrate on writing. The only recourse was to do what I call a “wildlife watch”, concentrating solely on what was around in nature. Out came the telephone link to the house, the binoculars, camera and notebook, and I was set.

A greater roadrunner and a pair of snub-nosed monkeys are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

There are certain environmental benefits only farmers can provide; a weakened subsidy system will dissuade their efforts

It was perhaps the most significant pre-Brexit tie between Britain and the European Union: for decades, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has provided supportive subsidies to EU farmers, consuming 40% of the EU’s annual budget in the process, almost £3bn of which went to the United Kingdom each year.

CAP’s system of subsidies works to incentivise farmers to produce more food, so the EU can remain food secure, and also funds those who set aside land for environmental protection instead of cultivation. But CAP’s inability to fully deliver on its ambitious goals has made it a controversial policy, one that both bolstered and undermined Britain’s relations with the EU.

US presidential candidate said planning conditions associated with Aberdeenshire project had not been satisfied

Donald Trump has vowed to continue fighting the windfarm development off the coast from his Aberdeenshire golf course, branding the project an act of “public vandalism”.

The US presidential candidate returned to the fray after Swedish energy company Vattenfall confirmed on Thursday that it is going ahead with its £300m investment, despite last month’s EU referendum vote.

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

Decompression computers worn by recreational and commercial divers provides accurate data, study shows

Millions of holidaying scuba divers are able to become citizen scientists and take vital measurements of ocean temperatures, which are being driven up by climate change.

More than 90% of the heat trapped by global warming goes into oceans, where it drives hurricanes and disrupts fish stocks. Satellites can measure surface temperature when there are no clouds, but getting data from below the surface is much harder and more expensive.

Delamere Forest, Cheshire Red and blue damsels drift around me like filaments on the breeze but I am here to see a rarer species: the white-faced darter

I skirt the edge of lower Doolittle Moss, in Delamere Forest, treading through soft peaty soil and batting away the pungent bracken that has grown almost as tall as me. Hard green fruit are starting to appear on the brambles, and bumblebees are making the most of the last blossoms.

Surrounded by forest on all sides, the moss is black acidic water devoid of fish. Not the least bit inviting, even as the temperature climbs. But it is a boggy beauty spot in its own right. Half submerged islands of vivid lime-green sphagnum moss break the surface. Stands of cotton grass and sedge shoot upwards, and above them the sunlight catches on flakes of silver and gold.

With hydrogen tipped to become an important clean energy fuel, a new process may be the solution to powering electric vehicles and heating buildings

An Australian company is using “cheap as dirt” iron ore to convert methane in natural gas into hydrogen. Importantly, their process generates near-zero emissions, as the carbon content of the gas is captured in the form of high-quality graphite.

As a clean-burning fuel, hydrogen could play a key role in future energy markets, but production methods are still too energy-intensive and costly.

June marked 14th month of record heat for land and oceans with average global temperature reaching 1.3C

The world is on track for its hottest year on record and levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have reached new highs, further fuelling global warming, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said.

June marked the 14th consecutive month of record heat for land and oceans, the United Nations agency said on Thursday. It called for the speedy implementation of a pact reached last December to limit climate change by shifting from fossil fuels to green energy by 2100.

You’re more likely to die from a tick bite or a bee sting than to you are to be killed by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone park, but here are a few tips just in case

Peak camping season is upon us, and this July and August millions Americans will be loading the minivan, heading into our national parks and forests, and inevitably meeting some bears.

Fortunately, most of these encounters will be uneventful. In almost every case, the bear will turn its tail and run. Take Yellowstone national park for example, a perfect grizzly bear habitat. In its 145-year history, with over 120 million visitors, only eight people have been killed by bears. You are far more likely to die of a tick bite or a bee sting. Indeed, you are more likely to be murdered in your own bed in America than you are to be killed by a grizzly while camping in Yellowstone.

£300m Aberdeen Bay windfarm near Donald Trump golf course will be key testing ground for reducing cost

The Swedish energy company Vattenfall is pushing ahead with a £300m windfarm off the coast of Aberdeen despite last month’s EU referendum vote.

The offshore windfarm has been dogged by years of legal battles between Donald Trump and the Scottish government over its impact on his golf course, which the tycoon ultimately lost in the courts last year.

Full body immersion or cooling the extremities will help maintain healthy body temperatures

As we hit high-heat season in the Northern Hemisphere, it is useful to clarify tactics that can be used to help maintain healthy body temperatures. These tips are not commonly known and can be adopted by anyone, anywhere. While I am a climate scientist, my funded work is in the area of heat transfer, particularly in the human body. I work with medical companies to maintain healthy body temperatures during surgeries or other situations. I also deal with scald burns and I often serve in burn injury litigation.

Here are some key tips. First, avoid hyperthermia in the first place – drink plenty of fluids, avoiding direct sunlight, trying to get a respite from heat each day, avoiding physical exertion during the hottest parts of the day are all great suggestions. But, if you need to lower a body temperature, Dr. Robert Huggins, VP of Research and Athlete Performance at the Korey Stringer Institute suggests: