The Guardian

A team of scientists at the National Centers for Environmental Information in Boulder, Colorado have produced a digital atlas of the Earth that shows the levels of light pollution. The atlas makes use of low-light imaging now available from the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, calibrated by thousands of ground observations. Light pollution is so severe in some parts of the world that a third of human beings cannot see the Milky Way

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

A poll of environmental professionals showed most think the UK benefits from EU air pollution rules

The UK’s air pollution crisis would get worse if the country votes to leave the European Union, according to a new poll of environment professionals.

The UK already has levels of air pollution above legal EU limits in many cities, resulting in 40,000 early deaths a year, while ministers are currently lobbying in Brussels against lower air pollution limits.

Tibetan antelopes, tussling Indian rat snakes and Europe’s last primeval forest are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

Manmade global warming greatly increased the risk of extreme rain affecting the French capital, analysis shows

The Paris floods, that saw extreme rainfall swell the river Seine to its highest level in decades, were made almost twice as likely because of the manmade emissions driving global warming, scientists have found.

A three-day period of heavy rain at the end of May saw tens of thousands of people evacuated across France, and the capital’s normally busy river closed to traffic because the water levels were so high under bridges. As artworks in the Louvre were moved to safety and Paris’s cobbled walkways were submerged, the French president, François Hollande, blamed the floods on climate change.

Decision to allow shale gas tests in village of Kirby Misperton could be challenged in court, Friends of the Earth says

Anti-fracking campaigners have claimed that a decision to allow energy companies to drill for shale gas in Yorkshire could be challenged in court.

The fracking firm Third Energy was given permission last month to carry out test drilling at a site in Kirby Misperton in Rydale, North Yorkshire, even after locals opposed the application.

The world is covered in more than 40m miles of road networks. What if this network could act like solar panels, and what if we could power our vehicles with the energy generated by this? In 2009, these questions formed the beginning of a vision for the future for Sten De Wit at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research in Delft, whose ideas are being put into practice with SolaRoad

Coral bleaching is becoming an increasingly frequent and severe problem in a hotter world

Readers may have noticed that it’s been about a month since my last article. In recent weeks I presented guest articles in place of my own pieces. The reason for my absence was due to the adoption I was finalizing in the USA (my second successful adoption!). Anyone who has adopted a child can attest to the time and travel requirements. I intend that this article marks my return to near weekly posting and I thank my readers for their patience.

Coral reefs are important for the health of the ocean biosystem; they support and harbor a high density of diverse organisms. While there are reefs located in many locations around the world, people often think first about the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast. It is known for its size and beauty; it brings travelers close to nature.

Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire The breeding season has started late and male great bustards are still performing their elaborate courtship displays

We follow a pitted farm track over the brow of the hill and into the valley, then climb off-road to the hide. The 38,0000 hectare chalk plateau is a haven for wildlife with its patchwork of close-cropped grass, golden oilseed rape and small strips of soil ploughed bare to create stone curlew nesting plots.

In 1998 the Great Bustard Group began exploring the possibility of reintroducing this vulnerable species, which became extinct in the UK in 1832. Annual releases of imported bustards began in 2004 and the first eggs were laid by reintroduced birds in 2007, but the population is not yet self-sustaining. Although breeding has taken place every year, survival rates are low and not all surviving juveniles are recruited to the adult population. Lekking usually peaks in April, but this year the breeding season started later than usual and I’ve been told that there is still a chance of seeing the males perform their elaborate display.

The project, which would create a guaranteed market for renewable energy, aims to reduce city’s annual emissions by 138,000 tonnes a year

It’s an unmistakably Melbourne setting: councillor Arron Wood is the city’s environment portfolio chairman, standing in a rooftop courtyard as the faint sound of trams rises up from Swanston Street down below and the surrounding skyline reaches into a cool autumn sky.

Against this backdrop, not to mention the solar thermal panels on the next level, Wood does not hold back when discussing how cities can lead from the front in tackling climate change.

Exclusive: Proposed mines to produce aluminium are putting the habitat of vulnerable Cape York palm cockatoo at risk, sparking calls for stronger environmental laws

Australia’s spectacular palm cockatoo is being put at risk by proposed bauxite mines, conservationists have said.

The Cape York palm cockatoo, Australia’s largest cockatoo, is listed as vulnerable under Australia’s federal environment laws. About 3,000 mature birds are thought to exist, and their numbers are declining.

Radical new technique promises a cheaper and more secure method of burying CO2 emissions underground instead of storing it as a gas

Carbon dioxide has been pumped underground and turned rapidly into stone, demonstrating a radical new way to tackle climate change.

The unique project promises a cheaper and more secure way of burying CO2 from fossil fuel burning underground, where it cannot warm the planet. Such carbon capture and storage (CCS) is thought to be essential to halting global warming, but existing projects store the CO2 as a gas and concerns about costs and potential leakage have halted some plans.

Tiny Spanish island takes first delivery of electric vehicles as it sets out to become the first in Europe to banish petrol and diesel cars from its shores

The tiny Mediterranean island of Formentera has taken delivery of six electric cars as part of an ambitious plan to be the first island in Europe to banish traditional cars from its shores.

At 12 miles (19km) from end-to-end and with a population of about 12,000, Formentera is the smallest of Spain’s Balearic Islands. In summer, however, 15,000 cars are in circulation, arriving by ferry or rented on the island.

Toxic air set to cause as many as 9 million premature deaths a year around the world in the next four decades, with economic costs rising to trillions a year

Air pollution is becoming a “terrifying” problem around the globe, one of the world’s leading economic organisations has warned, and will get much worse in the coming decades if urgent steps are not taken to control the pollution.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Thursday that pollution of our air from industry, agriculture and transport was set to cause as many as 9 million premature deaths a year around the world in the next four decades, and the economic costs are likely to rise to about $2.6 tn (£1.8tn) a year over the same period.

Wildlife hospital uses washing-up liquid to clean bird that was scavenging for food at factory

A seagull turned bright orange after it fell into a vat of chicken tikka masala.

The bird fell into the container while trying to scavenge meat from a food factory bin on Monday. It was rescued by workers at the site in Wales, and picked up by a volunteer for Vale wildlife hospital, near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

New low-carbon heating network is first stage of a plan to transform Bristol into a carbon-neutral city by 2050, reports BusinessGreen

Bristol’s newly elected mayor, Marvin Rees, has approved the city’s first major step towards becoming carbon neutral by 2050, giving the go-ahead for £5m in capital funding to build a low-carbon district heating network to serve the city.

The first phase of the heat network, which was approved earlier this week, will supply low-carbon heat to buildings throughout Bristol via a network of underground pipes connected to a number of energy centres, including biomass boilers and gas combined heat and power plants. Over time the city plans to phase out the use of natural gas in favour of renewable alternatives.

Sixty years on since the introduction of measures to reduce air pollution we’d like to hear your smog recollections

In 1952 the great smog of London saw a week-long pea-souper take over the capital which contributed to the deaths of at least 4,000 people. In response to the disaster, the government passed the Clean Air Act of 1856 aimed at reducing air pollutants.

Recently, the new mayor of London Sadiq Khan unveiled plans to substantially increase the size of London’s clean air charging zone to tackle the capital’s illegal air pollution levels.

Scientists hope large-scale maps will offer new insight into effects of warming and pollution as previous studies have almost always been done up close in the water

Coral reefs have almost always been studied up close, by scientists in the water looking at small portions of larger reefs to gather data and knowledge about the larger ecosystems. But Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is taking a step back and getting a wider view, from about 23,000 ft above.

Nasa and top scientists from around the world are launching a three-year campaign on Thursday to gather new data on coral reefs like never before.

Warmest spring on record helps push states’s year-to-date temperature more than 5.5C above average, reports Climate Central

Alaska just can’t seem to shake the fever it has been running. This spring was easily the hottest the state has ever recorded and it contributed to a year-to-date temperature that is more than 10°F (5.5°C) above average, according to data released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

The Lower 48, meanwhile, had its warmest spring since the record-breaking scorcher of 2012.

Rolling sand dunes of Arabia, thinning glaciers of Greenland and wildfires of Fort McMurray in Canada were among the images captured by European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last month

Nasa astronaut Jeff Williams captured this image of the ancient Potidea canal in Greece from the International Space Station. For 2,000 years this canal has connected the Thermaikos and Toronaios Gulfs. Williams posted the photograph on Twitter, saying: ‘Coastal currents and erosion over 2,000 years appear to have displaced the two sides of this isthmus, which may explain the coastline’s misalignment.’