The Guardian

Food and veterinary authority report questions whether hunting large whales can meet animal welfare objectives

Whales have taken as long as two hours to die during Icelandic hunts, according to a report by the Icelandic food and veterinary authority.

A number of the carcasses of the fin whales shot by explosive harpoons during hunts in Iceland last year were examined by the organisation, which found that almost 40% struggled for approximately 11 and a half minutes before they died, while two took more than an hour. A quarter of the fin whales, the second-largest mammal on Earth after the blue whale, considered “vulnerable” globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, had to be harpooned a second time. Only 59% died instantly.

Former soldier is transforming his land on Bodmin Moor with tree planting and natural regeneration

Tripling Britain’s temperate rainforest is the goal of a new charity founded by a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who found solace in this unique and biodiverse habitat.

The Thousand Year Trust is being launched this week by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison, who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after three tours of Afghanistan and is now transforming his 120-hectare (300 acre) hill farm on Bodmin Moor into the largest rainforest restoration project in England and Wales.

Well-meaning weather boffins or a scheming hive of traitorous warmists?

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Just Stop Oil and Republic activists were arrested for peaceful protests. Unless we act, this will become business as usual

On Saturday morning at 5am, about 18 Just Stop Oil supporters set off to attend the coronation. Underneath their raincoats they were wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts, and they carried small orange flags emblazoned with the logo and slogan. None were carrying glue or any lock-on devices. Once in position on the Mall, they had planned to unveil their T-shirts and wave their flags as the royal carriage passed. A move that would have spread our demand to “Just Stop Oil” across the globe.

One was arrested before they managed to meet up with the group. A further 13 were arrested on the Mall, before they had revealed their T-shirts and flags. Four more supporters and an independent journalist following the group were arrested outside Downing Street. The Met confirmed it had arrested a total of 52 people around the coronation for affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

Chloe Naldrett is a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil

PFAS are present at ‘potentially dangerous’ levels in widely used chemicals sprayed on food crops destined for Americans’ plates

Some of the United States’ most widely used food pesticides are contaminated with “potentially dangerous” levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, new testing of the products finds.

The Environmental Protection Agency has previously been silent on PFAS in food pesticides, even as it found the chemicals in non-food crop products. The potential for millions of acres of contaminated food cropland demands swifter and stronger regulatory action, the paper’s authors say.

Experts say neighbourhood varieties will suit an area’s pollinators, and that caution is needed when buying generic seed mixes

Gardeners hoping to establish a wildflower patch in their gardens should be wary of generic seed mixes and stick to local blooms to best serve wild pollinators, experts have said.

Conservationists are urging people to source not just native wildflowers but to find out what grows naturally in their neighbourhood by getting out in their area and looking for inspiration in existing meadows, verges and nature reserves. They should then use this as a guide to ensure they are collecting or buying the most suitable wildflowers for their gardens.

First, you’ve got to drive a long way before you overcome your EV’s embedded carbon debt. And then there’s the trouble with the minerals in its battery…

So you’ve finally taken the plunge and bought an electric vehicle (EV)? Me too. You’re basking in the warm glow that comes from doing one’s bit to save the planet, right? And now you know that smug feeling when you are stuck in a motorway tailback behind a hideous diesel SUV that’s pumping out particulates and noxious gases, but you’re sitting there in peace and quiet and emitting none of the above. And when the traffic finally starts to move again you notice that the fast lane is clear and you want to get ahead of that dratted SUV. So you put your foot down and – whoosh! – you get that pressure in the small of your back that only owners of Porsche 911s used to get. Life’s good, n’est-ce pas?

Er, up to a point. True, there’s nothing noxious coming out of your exhaust pipe, because you don’t have one; and the electric motors that power your wheels certainly don’t burn any fossil fuel. But that doesn’t mean that your carbon footprint is zero. First of all, where did the electricity that charged that big battery of yours come from? If it came from renewable sources, then that’s definitely good for the planet. But in most countries, at least some of that electricity came from non-renewable sources, maybe even – shock, horror! – coal-burning generating stations.

Higher rates slow the renewable energy transition and shield oil and gas producers from competition by low-carbon producers

In late 2021, consumer price inflation surged in many countries. Prices shot up again following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In response, central banks drastically tightened monetary policy – raising interest rates from near zero to around 5% or more. Since the interest rate hikes have failed to bring down core inflation to the target rate of 2% favored by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB), the pressure for further rate hikes has been insistent.

We have long doubted that central bank rate rises could control the new inflation at a socially acceptable price. In most countries, wages lag well behind inflation. Too much of the rise in prices clearly reflects the impact of higher profit margins and obvious supply bottlenecks.

Thomas Ferguson is professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and director of research at the Institute for New Economic Thinking

Servaas Storm is a senior lecturer at the Delft University of Technology

Extreme event would have been expected once in 40,000 years before global heating, scientists estimate

The record-shattering temperatures that hit the western Mediterranean last week would have been “almost impossible” without the climate crisis, according to scientists.

The heatwave across Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Algeria was made at least 100 times more likely by global heating, the researchers calculated. Before the climate crisis, such an extreme event would have been expected only once in a least 40,000 years, making it statistically impossible on human timescales.

Environmentalists from the Philippines urge investors to avoid LNG projects which they say threaten the Verde Island Passage

Campaigners from the Philippines have urged British banks not to fund the expansion of fossil fuel use in their country. It follows a huge oil spill that threatened a globally important marine biodiversity hotspot.

Filipino environmentalists have travelled to the UK to meet representatives from Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC as part of efforts to stop the expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plants and terminals in and around the Verde Island Passage, a global marine biodiversity hotspot known for its whale sharks, corals, turtles and rich fisheries, which was badly affected by the oil spill this year.

Committee of MPs says ‘dark cloud of delays’ hindering Britain from reaching renewable energy potential

Businesses in the UK are facing waits of up to 15 years for solar installations on their homes due to a lack of grid connectivity, MPs have found.

The environmental audit committee, which looks at green policies in government, has said there is a “dark cloud of delays” hindering the country from reaching its potential when it comes to renewable energy.

Twenty-two institutions have been shut down as part of proposed month-long campaign

A wave of student occupations has shut down schools and universities across Europe as part of a renewed youth protest campaign against inaction on climate breakdown. Twenty-two schools and universities across the continent have been occupied as part of a proposed month-long campaign.

In Germany, universities were occupied in Wolfenbüttel, Magdeburg, Münster, Bielefeld, Regensburg, Bremen and Berlin. In Spain, students in occupation at the Autonomous University of Barcelona organised teach-outs on the climate crisis. In Belgium, 40 students occupied the University of Ghent. In the Czech Republic, about 100 students camped outside the ministry of trade and industry. In the UK occupations were under way at the universities of Leeds, Exeter and Falmouth.

H5N1 bird flu may lead to extinction of species as data revealed by Guardian shows worst losses in decades

Avian flu has killed more than twice the number of wild birds previously estimated in the UK, according to data collected by the Guardian, with numbers likely to escalate during this year’s breeding season.

The highly infectious variant of H5N1 has caused Europe’s worst bird flu outbreak, resulting in the most significant and sudden loss of birds in decades. Conservationists are warning that it could mean the extinction of some seabird species, as breeding colonies have been particularly badly hit.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including rescued turtles, a fox cub and Pablo Escobar’s hippos

Discovery of ‘anti-cannibalism’ pheromone raises possibility of spraying crops with similar chemical as non-toxic insecticide

Locusts are voracious eaters with appetites that extend to members of their own species. Now scientists have discovered an “anti-cannibalism” pheromone used by the insects to protect themselves in dense swarms, which could pave the way for novel pest control strategies.

Scientists said the discovery raises a host of possibilities, including spraying crops with something similar to the protective pheromone as a non-toxic insecticide, or finding a way to reduce its impact among locusts and make them turn on each other more.

Floods and mudslides have swept through northern and western Rwanda after torrential rain.

At least 115 people died as rivers of mud engulfed houses and fields, and landslides cut off roads.

The western province bordering Lake Kivu was worst affected by the extreme rainfall amid floods that some fear might be the worst the region has seen

• At least 115 dead in Rwanda after heavy rains trigger floods and mudslides

‘Fascinating’ discovery could prove a useful non-invasive diagnostic tool to apply to other species, say scientists

The vivid blue irises of northern gannets turn black if they survive avian flu, according to a new study which provides evidence that some wild birds are shaking off the deadly virus.

Avian flu has killed wild and domestic birds for decades but the current strain (H5N1) severely affected seabird populations across the North Atlantic last year, with particularly high death rates among gannets.

Overlooked animals vital for alpine ecosystems could lose most of their habitat and disappear, research suggests

Invertebrates living in the cool meltwater rivers of the European Alps could lose most of their habitat and disappear, as the mountain range’s glaciers melt at an unprecedented rate due to climate change, according to a study.

Although they are often overlooked, these animals are crucial for alpine ecosystems.

As campaigning hots up around the world once again, eyes have been turning to the country that is taking things further

In the UK, when climate activists want to block a road, they sit down on it. When their fellow activists in France want to do the same, they build a wall across one side, and set the other side on fire.

As Extinction Rebellion drew tens of thousands to their peaceful “Big One” protests in London last weekend, in the south of France 8,500 environmental protesters occupied the road from Toulouse to the town of Castres.

Plans put onus on local authorities to stop air pollution but offer no new funds or powers for traffic calming and other measures

Local authorities in England have not been given the funding or powers to fulfil the government’s strategy on air pollution, and air quality in English towns and cities is likely to suffer as a result, local governments and charities have said.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its latest plan late on 28 April, just before the UK bank holiday weekend. It followed a consultation earlier that month that was only days long, which local authorities said was not enough time for them to contribute properly.