The Guardian

Local authorities say policing government’s new standards on smoke pollution is beyond their means

Local authorities lack the resources for the crackdown on highly polluting wood burners promised by the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, they say.

Wood-burning in urban areas is an increasing source of harmful air pollution, as people install stoves for aesthetic reasons or to save money on gas.

Butterfly Conservation report reveals 42% decline in distribution of 58 native species since 1976

Butterfly species have vanished from nearly half of the places where they once flew in the UK since 1976, according to a study.

The distribution of 58 native species has fallen by 42% as butterflies disappear from cities, fields and woods. Those that are only found in particular habitats, such as wetlands or chalk grassland, have fared even worse, declining in distribution by 68%.

Data suggests male northern quolls rest less than females and spend much more time on the move, leading to their death after a single breeding season. As Guardian Australia's science report Donna Lu explains, Australian scientists have been researching why male quolls finish the mating season looking 'terrible', with some ending up in an 'early grave'. After equipping the endangered native animals with miniature backpacks and tracking them for seven weeks during the breeding season, researchers observed the males were spending very little time resting and were constantly on the move, all in the dogged pursuit to mate

• Dying for sex: endangered male quolls may be mating themselves to death instead of sleeping, scientists say
• Snakes have clitorises: scientists overcome ‘a massive taboo around female genitalia’
• Release of 10 quolls boosts ‘insurance’ population of endangered marsupial

Nearly 14,000 people from two Nigerian communities are seeking justice in the high court in London against the fossil fuel giant Shell, claiming it is responsible for devastating pollution of their water sources and destruction of their way of life. The individuals from the Niger delta area of Ogale, a farming community, joined more than 2,000 people from the Bille area, a large fishing community. Shell have been operating on the Niger delta for over 80 years and recently announced that they will be ceasing all operations. The oil company made record-breaking profits in 2022, generating over $32bn in the first three quarters. The oil giant are arguing that they are not responsible for a clean-up of Nigerian communities for spills that they say were caused by criminal gangs over five years ago. Lawyers representing the fishing villages argue that the scale of oil spills in the delta masks a human tragedy on an extraordinary scale

• Nearly 14,000 Nigerians take Shell to court over devastating impact of pollution
• Calls for bigger windfall tax after Shell makes ‘obscene’ $40bn profit

Sir Richard Kleinwort has not given permission for viable walking and cycling route between Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath

An aristocrat is at odds with his local council after blocking plans for a green walkway linking two Sussex towns through his estate, which would give children a safe route to walk or cycle home from school.

Local people complain that to travel between Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath, they have to use two winding country roads with no pavements and fast traffic. Mid Sussex district council has proposed a “green path” through the lush fields and pretty woodland of the nearby area, where people could walk and cycle.

The tiny capsule that fell out of a Perth-bound truck captured the world’s attention, but experts say hundreds of radioactive sources go missing each year

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If finding the tiny radioactive capsule that went missing in the vast Australian outback was like finding a needle in a haystack, at least the needle was crying out “here I am!”, Dr Edward Obbard says.

Just 8mm by 6mm – the size of a 10c coin – the capsule fell out of a truck on its way from a Rio Tinto mine site in Western Australia’s Pilbara region to Perth, sparking a six-day hunt across the 1,400km desert route.

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An online tour is being launched of an enclosure on the Holnicote estate in Somerset that is home to a family of five beavers. In what is billed as the first of its kind, the tour allows viewers to navigate through the 2.7-acre Exmoor enclosure where two adult beavers and their three offspring live. Other wildlife captured include kingfishers, stoats, roe deer and bull finches, all of which are believed to have benefited from the changes the beavers are making to the area

• Somerset estate offers rare peek into life of beavers with launch of online tour
  

Co-author of paper says results have implications for anyone who has to think hard in polluted areas

Chess experts make more mistakes when air pollution is high, a study has found.

Experts used computer models to analyse the quality of games played and found that with a modest increase in fine particulate matter, the probability that chess players would make an error increased by 2.1 percentage points, and the magnitude of those errors increased by 10.8%.

Retailer and green groups warn of ‘high environmental cost’ of fish aggregating devices to tuna stocks and other endangered marine life

The EU is under pressure to significantly restrict its huge fleet of fishing vessels from using “fish aggregating devices” that make it easier to catch huge numbers of fish and contribute further to overfishing.

A letter signed by Marks & Spencer and more than 100 environmental groups, including the International Pole and Line Foundation, warns EU officials that the devices (FADs) are one of the main contributors to overfishing of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean, because they catch high numbers of juveniles.

Twenty states have enacted laws restricting rights to peaceful protest, as environmentalists are increasingly criminalized

The shooting of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, believed to be the first environmental defender killed in the US, is the culmination of a dangerous escalation in the criminalization and repression of those who seek to protect natural resources in America, campaigners have warned.

The death of 26-year-old Terán, who was also known as “Tortuguita” or “Little Turtle”, in a forest on the fringes of Atlanta was the sort of deadly act “people who have been paying attention to this issue assumed would happen soon, with no sense of joy”, according to Marla Marcum, founder of the Climate Disobedience Center, which supports climate protesters.

Record-breaking French freediver Arthur Guérin-Boëri holds five world championship titles. Here, he dives into Kvaenangen Fjord, Norway, to swim with killer whales

Government plan to educate owners and encourage fines not enough to effectively tackle air pollution

• Study links air pollution to mental ill-health

Politicians and campaigners have called for an urgent review of wood-burning stoves, which cause large amounts of pollution in urban areas.

The calls follow the admission by the environment secretary that the government had set weaker air pollution targets than it would like. The admission came as she announced a new environmental plan for England that held back from banning wood-burning stoves and settled instead for “educating” people on their use.

National Trust project shows family home of ‘nature’s engineers’ and how they have improved the environment for other wildlife

They can be seen chugging around their watery domain like small furry tugboats, gnawing away at saplings or nuzzling up to each other. The sound of babbling water and birdsong provides a pleasing soundtrack.

A new online tour is being launched on Thursday of an enclosure on the Holnicote estate in Somerset that is home to a family of five beavers. In what is billed as the first of its kind, the tour allows viewers to navigate through the 2.7-acre Exmoor enclosure where two adult beavers and their three offspring live and work.

I am filled with grief at losing my friend at a time when we need his calm, direct voice more than ever

This week science lost one of its greatest Earth system experts, Australia lost a skilled, passionate communicator of climate science and the world lost a humble soul of the highest humanity, kindness and integrity. As did scores of others, I lost a colleague and friend when Will Steffen left us on Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

It is impossible to overstate Will’s impact on science. The many tributes to his work can only scratch the surface of his legacy. He led the effort to map the Great Acceleration of human impact on the physical and biological systems of our planet, culminating in consideration of the geological age of humans – the Anthropocene, first proposed by Nobel prize winner Paul Crutzen.

As the climate system continues to spiral towards a potentially uncontrollable state, I am struck with an increasing sense of both anger and apprehension. I’m angry because the lack of effective action on climate change, despite the wealth not of only scientific information but also of solutions to reduce emissions, has now created a climate emergency. The students are right. Their future is now being threatened by the greed of the wealthy fossil fuel elite, the lies of the Murdoch press, and the weakness of our political leaders. These people have no right to destroy my daughter’s future and that of her generation.

I’m apprehensive because the more we learn about climate change, the riskier it looks. Even at a 1 degree C rise in global temperature, extreme weather events are becoming more violent and dangerous than models have predicted. Over the last 5 years, our knowledge of tipping points in the Earth System has advanced rapidly, with many already showing signs of instability. Worse yet, they can interact like a row of dominoes to set off a tipping cascade, driving the Earth to hotter and more unstable conditions. That is my worst fear – that we may reach a ‘point of no return’ where we commit our children to a future of hell on Earth.

The pop-psychologist has turned his hand to exposing new audiences to old arguments from climate change deniers

Canadian psychologist and darling of conservatives and the alt-right, Jordan Peterson, has been on an all-out attack on the science of climate change and the risks of global heating.

Peterson has 6.3 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, and his videos also run as audio podcasts on platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

California files competing proposal on cutting water use of the river as hopes of western states reaching consensus fade

California filed a competing conservation plan for the Colorado River on Tuesday, just one day after opting out of a proposal put forward by six other western states, signaling a breakdown in negotiations over how to drastically cut water use from the imperiled waterway.

Officials with the Bureau of Reclamation had called on the states to come to a consensus on how to curb between 2 and 4m acre-feet or roughly enough water to supply 8m households for a full year.

Government accepts Liberal Democrat amendment to UK infrastructure bank bill

Taxpayer money may no longer be invested in water companies that fail to produce adequate plans to stop sewage discharges, after the government accepted a Liberal Democrat amendment.

The change to the UK infrastructure bank bill means that once it becomes law, tax receipts will only be able to fund water companies if they produce a costed and timed plan for ending sewage spills into waterways.

Researchers find long-term exposure to even relatively low levels raises risk of depression and anxiety

Long-term exposure to even comparatively low levels of air pollution could cause depression and anxiety, according to a study exploring the links between air quality and mental ill-health.

Tracking the incidence of depression and anxiety in almost 500,000 UK adults over 11 years, researchers found that those living in areas with higher pollution were more likely to suffer episodes, even when air quality was within official limits.

Rosy-plumaged bird found wandering in city square was domestic king pigeon unable to fend for itself, wildlife group says

A pink-plumaged pigeon rescued from a New York City park may have been dyed for a gender reveal party, a wildlife group said.

The king pigeon was found wandering Madison Square Park in Manhattan and was taken into care, the Wild Bird Fund said.

Data suggests male northern quolls rest less than females and spend much more time on the move, leading to their death after a single breeding season

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Male northern quolls seem to sacrifice sleep in favour of having sex, behaviour that might be responsible for their early deaths, suggests new research into the endangered marsupials.

Australian scientists have investigated why male northern quolls usually mate themselves to death after one season, while females of the species reproduce once but live up to four years.

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