The Guardian

As sewage is discharged into the UK’s seas and targets are missed, company chiefs use their time on other roles

Some of the highly paid bosses of England’s water companies are earning tens of thousands of pounds in second boardroom jobs, advising on the pay deals of other top executives.

Five of the chief executives of England’s nine water and sewerage companies are also working as non-executive directors in other firms, sitting on remuneration committees.

There is change in the air – vast change. Two years before the next general election it is obvious – just as it was in 1977 before Margaret Thatcher won in 1979 – that the existing policy framework has reached its sell-by date. Then it was the postwar settlement – including incomes policies and public ownership – whose weaknesses were becoming ever harder to defend, even among those of us who recognised its strengths. At the very least it needed a wholesale rethink and makeover, or, as Thatcher argued, be repudiated with a bracing new framework adopted in its place.

So, in 2022 we have the prospect of 13% inflation or even higher, swingeing energy bills that will topple millions into destitution. Add in the failures of privatisation dramatised by excessive water leakages and raw sewage blighting many beaches and rivers, an impossibly overstretched NHS, and workers being badged as irresponsible for merely trying to resist dramatic cuts in their real incomes. All this has crystallised how the whole Thatcherite edifice of economic and social policy, decaying for years, is suddenly and obviously redundant.

Traditional western storytelling conventions aren’t up to the task of understanding the enormity of the climate crisis or the pandemic

People love to talk about the power of stories: the force of the right hero’s journey spurring an individual into action; the power of a compelling narrative to change minds; the way empathy can break down barriers and re-shape society … I’ve done it myself for this very publication.

We do it because various iterations of these arguments are real and true. National Geographic says storytelling “helps us to find order in things that have happened to us and make sense of the events of a random world”, and that studies suggest “the more compelling the story, the more empathetic people become in real life.” According to the BBC, “storytelling is a form of cognitive play that hones our minds, allowing us to simulate the world around us and imagine different strategies, particularly in social situations … brain scans have shown that reading or hearing stories activates various areas of the cortex that are known to be involved in social and emotional processing …”

Billions of the pellets end up in the sea, killing turtles, whales and dolphins, and are washed up on beaches around the world

Maritime authorities are considering stricter controls on the ocean transport of billions of plastic pellets known as nurdles after a series of spillages around the world.

Campaigners warn that nurdles are one of the most common micro-plastic pollutants in the seas, washing up on beaches from New Zealand to Cornwall. The multicoloured pellets produced by petrochemical companies are used as building blocks for plastic products, from bags to bottles and piping.

Jumping spiders display rapid eye movements and limb twitching similar to what is seen in dreaming dogs and cats, researchers say

The question is not “do you have nightmares about spiders?” but, do spiders dream? About juicy flies, about humans, about anything at all?

A US-European research partnership suggests that thousands of species of jumping spiders might experience rapid eye movement stages of sleep. That is the state in which humans have their most vivid dreams, though the study in question stops well short of concluding that spiders have dreams.

We should be keeping endangered species alive rather than bringing animals back from extinction

The last official sighting of a Tasmanian tiger in the wild occurred in 1930, when it was shot by a farmer. The marsupials, formally known as thylacines, were hunted to extinction by European settlers who considered them a threat to their sheep and poultry. However, the 6ft-long creatures may reappear if a group of biotechnologists have their way.

The company Colossal Biosciences, along with researchers from the University of Melbourne, plans to “de-extinct” the thylacine by using gene-editing technology. Australia has the fastest rate of mammal extinction in the world; disappearances are down to the arrival of foreign species and wildfires linked to the climate crisis. Scientists argue that in Tasmania the loss of the thylacine left the numbers of smaller marsupials unchecked, leading to over-grazing and threatening a fragile ecological balance.

Regulator Ofwat says companies lost an average of 2,923.8m litres of water a day in 2021-22

Water companies in England and Wales lost more than 1tn litres via leaky pipes last year, according to the sector’s latest figures.

The industry and its financial regulator, Ofwat, say the water companies lost an average of 2,923.8m litres of water a day in 2021-22, equating to 1.06tn litres over the year, although Ofwat said the figures remained provisional until it has completed validation checks.

Several species including orange-tip show marked increase but climate crisis poses long-term threat

Sun-loving butterflies are flourishing in Scotland’s hotter summers with significant increases across a number of species including red admiral, orange-tip and ringlet, according to a report.

However, the report’s authors say this trend is likely to be short-lived without measures to reduce the effects of the climate crisis.

Forces already receiving 999 calls before restrictions come into force, diverting call handlers from emergencies

Police chiefs have urged members of the public not to report suspected breaches of hosepipe bans to forces.

Police forces have already received 999 calls about residents’ use of water, even before restrictions are in place.

The Business Roundtable is spending liberally to weaken efforts that would enable investors to hold companies accountable for their climate promises

Three years ago today, in a statement that would be described as “historic”, “monumental” and “revolutionary”, America’s most powerful and politically connected corporations promised to “protect the environment by embracing sustainable practices across our businesses”.

The “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” came from the Business Roundtable, an influential Washington DC lobbying group whose 200-plus members include the chief executives of some of the world’s biggest companies, including Apple, Pepsi, Walmart and Google.

Generate goodwill and positive PR by publishing bold climate goals, with little fear of being held accountable or legally liable for achieving those goals.

Can choose to selectively disclose certain parts of their carbon footprint, or none at all.

Are not required to reveal the greenhouse gas emissions generated throughout their supply chains – which, for most companies, make up the majority of their emissions.

Make high-profile pledges to fight climate change, while paying to maintain memberships in the Business Roundtable and other trade associations that spend millions of dollars to lobby governments against meaningful climate action.

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a baby Sumatran elephant, gemsboks and copulating praying mantice

Despite the arrival of heavy rain, nine UK regions remain drought zones. But what is a drought and why is it happening?

Despite the heavy rain and thunderstorms that have hit the UK this week, several areas of the country remain in drought. Drought was officially declared across eight regions of England on Friday 12 August, with a ninth – Yorkshire – added a few days later.

Not on my watch!

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Park officials are investigating the discovery, spotted in Abyss Pool in the southern part of the national park

An investigation is under way after a Yellowstone employee spotted part of a foot, in a shoe, floating in a hot spring in the national park.

The discovery was made on Tuesday at Abyss Pool, in the southern part of Yellowstone, and led to the temporary closure of the West Thumb Geyser Basin and its parking lot. The area has since reopened.

The toxic chemicals, PFAS, are now thought to be contaminating drinking water supplies for over 200 million Americans

A new method for decomposing some PFAS compounds may represent a major breakthrough in addressing widespread environmental contamination across the world, according to research published on Thursday.

PFAS, or per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and man-made processes that attempt to destroy them are expensive, energy intensive and have yielded questionable results.

Trial is first successful demonstration of genetic engineering being used to directly target photosynthesis process

Genetically modified soya beans designed to absorb light more efficiently produced a 25% greater yield in an advance that could significantly boost global food supplies.

The field trials are the first successful demonstration that genetic engineering can be used to directly target the photosynthesis process in food crops. The improvements seen are almost unprecedented for this kind of intervention and would take decades to achieve through selective breeding.

Announcement at national electric vehicle summit comes as climate change minister seeks input on national EV strategy

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An Australian bank will stop offering loans for new fossil fuel cars from 2025 in a step it says will encourage more people to buy electric vehicles.

The customer-owned Bank Australia will announce the self-imposed ban at a national EV summit in Canberra on Friday, arguing it is a responsible step to ensure its lending practices did not “lock our customers into higher carbon emissions and increasingly expensive running costs”.

Fears for river ecosystems as average number of species declines

Chemical pollution is killing off the invertebrate species that are the basis of England’s river ecosystems, with experts raising the alarm over falling diversity of mayfly, caddisfly and stonefly species.

A census of aquatic wildlife on 12 English rivers found that in the spring and summer 2021, the mean number of riverfly species detected had fallen. In autumn last year, an average of just 10 species were recorded in each sample, compared with 13 in 2016.

B4Box in Stockport says by training workers in multiple skills it can build a better future and provide jobs

Like many others, Orianne Landers left school feeling it had failed to prepare her for the challenges of life. “I did OK at GCSE and A-level. But the subjects I took aren’t much help to me now. I took English and drama, which helped with confidence,” she says. “But they’re not as useful as you think they’re going to be.”

Landers, 25, soon found her calling in construction. “I did a painting and decorating qualification. That got me thinking about getting a house one day. I thought it would be easier if I could do all the maintenance work myself.”

Paula Masselos says the nets aren’t effective and catch too many non-target marine animals – with better options available

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Shark nets wouldn’t be installed at Sydney’s Bondi beach this summer if the local mayor had her way.

Animal welfare campaigners have long argued nets are not effective and kill too many other marine animals – and more politicians are joining the movement.