The Guardian

Law comes into force in 30 countries in move campaigners hope will stop an estimated 1m waterbirds a year dying of lead poisoning

Shooting birds using lead shot will be banned in all wetlands in the European Union from this week.

The law will apply to all 27 EU countries, as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. An estimated one million waterbirds die of lead poisoning in the EU every year.

Parks Victoria has taken samples for testing, with an expert suggesting the source could be avian botulism

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Testing is under way to determine what killed more than 350 birds at a nature reserve south-west of Bendigo.

More than 350 birds, mostly ducks, were found dead, and others injured and sick, between Thursday and Tuesday at Bells Swamp Nature Reserve.

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Neighbouring countries and local fishers express concern as 12th anniversary of nuclear disaster looms

Almost 12 years have passed since the strongest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history resulted in a tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people along its north-east coast.

As the country prepares to mark the 11 March anniversary, one of the disaster’s most troubling legacies is about to come into full view with the release of more than 1m tonnes of “treated” water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Court of appeal ruled homeowner could recover loss of value even if knotweed has been treated

A significant legal victory in a case brought by a householder affected by Japanese knotweed has raised the prospect of an increase in claims from people stricken by the hazardous plant.

The court of appeal ruled that a homeowner could recover damages for a loss of value of their property from having had Japanese knotweed, even if it had been treated.

Experts say wood burners have become ‘middle-class status symbols’ and government should regulate sale in urban areas

Emissions of toxic air pollution from wood burning in UK homes has more than doubled in the past decade, according to official government statistics.

The report also showed that solid fuel burning in homes, which includes a small proportion of coal, is the single biggest source of PM2.5 pollution, which refers to particulate matter that is smaller than 2.5 microns in size. Road transport, industry and burning wood and other biomass to produce electricity all produce fewer PM2.5 emissions.

‘Emotional’ posthumous discovery of 16-year-old hedgehog gives conservationists hope for the mammals’ future preservation

A 16-year-old European hedgehog called Thorvald has been crowned the oldest in the world, smashing the previous record by seven years.

The male hedgehog lived near the town of Silkeborg in the centre of Denmark. Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at Oxford University, who led the Danish Hedgehog Project that discovered Thorvald, said she was overwhelmed when she discovered how old he was.

Only 15 schemes reassessed by expert roads review panel under ‘world-leading’ policy will go ahead

Dozens of road building projects across Wales have been halted or amended as part of a “groundbreaking” policy that reassessed more than 50 schemes against a series of tough tests on their impact on the climate emergency.

Only 15 of the projects reviewed by an expert roads review panel will go ahead in their original form, with others scaled back, postponed or in some cases shelved.

António Guterres calls for urgent action as climate-driven rise brings ‘torrent of trouble’ to almost a billion people

An increase in the pace at which sea levels are rising threatens “a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale”, the UN secretary general has warned.

The climate crisis is causing sea levels to rise faster than for 3,000 years, bringing a “torrent of trouble” to almost a billion people, from London to Los Angeles and Bangkok to Buenos Aires, António Guterres said on Tuesday. Some nations could cease to exist, drowned under the waves, he said.

Storm overflow scheme will lead to raw sewage being discharged into waterways for decades to come, campaigners say

Campaigners are to make a high court challenge to the government’s plan to reduce raw sewage discharges into rivers and seas, arguing it does not go far enough.

The case, to be taken by the Good Law Project, will put the storm overflow scheme under detailed scrutiny. It will argue that the plan will lead to raw sewage being discharged into waterways for decades to come and does not protect the majority of coastal areas designated as ecologically sensitive.

Lawsuit alleges Bolthouse Farms deceived customers by claiming Green Goddess smoothie is made with ‘100% fruit juice’

A new class-action lawsuit alleges US beverage maker Bolthouse Farms deceived customers with claims that its Green Goodness smoothie is made of “100% fruit juice” after testing found the drink contains toxic PFAS, a synthetic chemical, at levels far above federal advisory drinking water limits.

PFAS are a class of about 12,000 chemicals typically used to make thousands of consumer products resist water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and they are linked to cancer, fetal complications, liver disease, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders and other serious health issues.

Almería was an off-grid paradise, but I like to think I’ve brought part of it back to the city with me

I take one last look at the lush valley below me. A tall palm tree sways in the soft warm breeze. A group of young people are working on one of the many vegetable and fruit terraces, their laughter mixing with the sound of water in the riverbed below. I tell myself that one day I will be back. But for now, it is goodbye. I’m leaving the eco-village in southern Spain, this cluster of old, whitewashed houses set in a green valley where I’ve spent the past six years.

My partner and I first arrived in Los Molinos – in Almería province, the driest part of Spain – in 2006, after a long spell in north London. Our experience of eco-living was limited to regular recycling and buying biodegradable laundry and bathroom products. In Spain, we had to learn how to live completely off-grid. All our electricity came from the array of solar panels in the garden, which meant we couldn’t have energy-hungry devices such as toasters and electric kettles. We even had to forgo the internet because there was no connection.

Paper calls for assessment of impact of sound pollution on cetaceans before firms allowed to mine sea bed

Deep sea mining could be doing irreparable damage to blue whales and other rare marine creatures, scientists have warned.

A peer-reviewed paper published by the University of Exeter and Greenpeace Research Laboratories focuses on the overlap between cetaceans (such as whales, dolphins and porpoises) and target sites for deep sea mining, especially in the Pacific Ocean. The authors warn that urgent research is needed to assess threats to these mammals.

Complaint says switching off tracking devices should raise ‘red flags’ with insurers, as it could be covering illegal fishing activity and puts crew’s lives at risk

When it comes to illegal fishing, London’s ancient business of ship insurance may not get much attention. But according to a new complaint, the UK capital’s insurance industry is partly to blame when fishing vessels “go dark” at sea by turning off their mandatory satellite tracking equipment.

In a filing to City of London watchdogs, the ocean conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation has argued that EU-flagged vessels operating in the Indian Ocean that go dark are in likely breach of international, flag state and coastal state law, and that the UK insurance industry is “enabling” them by continuing to provide cover, thereby putting seafarers’ lives at risk.

As Cyclone Gabrielle wreaks havoc in New Zealand, the country's climate minister James Shaw has excoriated the parliament over climate inaction. Shaw, who is the co-leader of the Greens, noted how New Zealand had already faced its 'worst climate-related disaster in this country only two weeks ago'

• New Zealand minister decries climate crisis ‘lost decades’ in wake of Cyclone Gabrielle
• Cyclone Gabrielle devastates New Zealand’s North Island as minister says ‘this is climate change’

A national state of emergency has been declared, with flooding and landslides devastating several communities. People have been trapped on roofs and houses have been destroyed as the storm lashes the North Island

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• Gabrielle devastates North Island as minister says ‘this is climate change’

Landmark case arguing the excise is unconstitutional could have an impact on how states raise revenue

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Victorians will find out whether they must continue paying tax on electric vehicles under a case that could change how states raise revenue.

Kath Davies and Chris Vanderstock have taken the tax all the way to the high court, arguing it’s unconstitutional.

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Jury found Helen Redfern, Simon Reding and Catherine Rennie-Nash guilty of public nuisance over 2021 Bishopsgate protest

Three Insulate Britain activists have been found guilty of causing a public nuisance by a jury for a two-hour sit-down blockade of traffic.

The three, Helen Redfern, Simon Reding and Catherine Rennie-Nash, were banned from talking about the climate crisis or the role of insulation in cutting greenhouse gas emissions as they presented their case to the jury at Inner London crown court. The same restriction has been placed on other Insulate Britain defendants in previous trials for public nuisance relating to peaceful protests taken as part of the group’s campaign for better insulation in UK homes.

Scientists hope emerging research into new types of animal feeds will make aquaculture more sustainable

Most of the environmental effects of farmed chicken and salmon arise from the food the animals are reared on, new research suggests.

Animal feed given to farmed chickens and salmon account respectively for at least 78% and 69% of the industries’ environmental pressures, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology.

Environmentalist alliance says plastic waste from failed supermarket-backed recycling scheme can be safely warehoused until it can be recycled

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Environment groups are urging federal and state governments to ensure thousands of tonnes of soft plastic that could end up in landfill are safely warehoused by supermarket chains until recycling facilities become available, even if that takes years.

The Boomerang Alliance – a coalition of 55 conservation groups – has accused the packaging industry of using a failed scheme run by REDcycle which led to more than 12,000 tonnes of plastic collected by the public being stockpiled since 2018 as a marketing ploy to mask how little is being done to improve recycling rates.

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Animals possibly being knocked off course by storm events on the east coast of the US and in the Caribbean

Small, wrinkled and stranded in chilly waters, young hard-shelled turtles have been turning up on the beaches of the UK and Ireland in higher numbers than usual this winter.

According to reports made to the Marine Conservation Society and Marine Environmental Monitoring, 13 juvenile turtles have been stranded since November – 12 loggerheads and one Kemp’s ridley turtle.