The Guardian

Newly published figures show for first time how US-style factory farms have spread across British countryside

There are more than 1,000 US-style mega-farms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including some holding as many as a million animals, according to a new investigation.

In the US, mega-farms are defined as those that hold more than 125,000 birds reared for meat, or 82,000 egg-laying hens, 2,500 pigs, 700 dairy cows or 1,000 beef cattle. These are labelled by US officials as a concentrated animal feedlot system (CAFO).

Main sources of vehicle-specific CO2 emissions data use ‘old and outdated’ test which may not reflect driving in the real world

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Australia is “flying blind” when it comes to emissions from particular vehicles because the federal government relies on industry data, experts have warned amid a push for new fuel and CO2 emission standards.

The main source for vehicle-specific emissions data in Australia is the Green Vehicle Guide, a government site that reports information from carmakers on CO2 emissions for new cars sold since 2004. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), an industry association representing carmakers, publishes information about the average emissions of different car brands.

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From Churchill to Roosevelt, great leaders have told the public the truth: that in dark times, sacrifices must be made for the greater good

There was never any formal announcement to the effect that modern British politics would no longer call on its citizens to make significant sacrifices. It just turned out that way. Perhaps it was after the 1970s oil crisis that politicians began to suspect such appeals were too great an electoral risk. Perhaps it got another push from the financial crisis of 2008. Either way, the mindset still remains strong of not trusting or relying on the public to stay the course when normality is put on hold.

No modern British politician would now make the speech that Franklin Roosevelt did when he became US president in 1933. “If I read the temper of our people correctly,” Roosevelt said in his first inaugural, “we now realise as we have never realised before our interdependence on each other; that we cannot merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective.”

Bees ‘may be in for rough time’ over 21st century as hotter and wetter conditions affect development

Bumblebees have become increasingly stressed by changes in climate over the past century, researchers examining museum specimens have found.

Bees develop asymmetrical wings when they experience stress during development, and by examining a series of preserved specimens and their dates, the scientists found bees showed higher levels of wing asymmetry in hotter and wetter years.

Study used fossil evidence to create a 3D model of the 50ft-long shark and estimated it could have eaten a killer whale in five bites

Modern sharks have nothing on their ancient cousins. A giant shark that roamed the oceans millions of years ago could have devoured a creature the size of a killer whale in just five bites, research suggests.

For their study published on Wednesday, researchers used fossil evidence to create a 3D model of the megalodon – one of the biggest predatory fish of all time – and find clues about its life.

Unique footage from US Navy sea mammals captures bursts of sonar clicks and victory squeals after grabbing meal

Video cameras attached to mine-hunting US Navy dolphins have filmed them hunting and eating fish and, to the scientists’ surprise, swallowing venomous yellow-bellied sea snakes.

It is the first time video and sound has captured bottlenose dolphins feeding on live fish, from the bursts of sonar clicks used to pinpoint the prey to the victory squeals after grabbing a meal.

Consultation paper suggests annual rates of emissions cuts, with tradable carbon credits rewarded to companies cutting pollution quickly

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Australia’s big polluting industries are likely to have to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by between 3.5% and 6% a year from next July under the Albanese government’s plan to respond to the climate crisis.

The government on Thursday released a consultation paper setting out how it could reform the safeguard mechanism, a policy that was introduced by the Coalition under Tony Abbott in 2016 to prevent increases in industrial emissions. In practice, companies have been allowed to increase pollution without penalty and industrial emissions have continued to rise.

Exclusive: Christian climate groups urge Clive Mather to resign and C of E to divest from fossil fuel

The chair of the Church of England Pensions Board, which has not divested its £3.5bn fund from fossil fuels, is a shareholder in Shell, the Guardian can reveal.

Clive Mather had a 38-year career at the oil company during which he oversaw a multibillion-dollar tar sands project in Canada.

Defra’s proposal for highly protected marine area off the coast of Northumberland could displace fishers, islanders warn

A Church of England vicar on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne has called the proposal to ban local fishing a “real error” with “massive socio-economic impact”.

One of the most important centres of early Christianity in England, the tidal island in Northumberland saw the first significant Viking attack in Europe and is the birthplace of the Lindisfarne gospels, now housed in the British Library. Every year, half a million visitors flock to its 12th-century priory, castle, pubs and cafes.

Discharges following heavy rainfall affecting water quality, especially in south

Swimmers have been warned to stay away after sewage was discharged on beaches across England and Wales, predominantly in the south.

Pollution alerts have been issued to beachgoers by the Environment Agency, and on some beaches signs have been put up to warn people.

Species at risk of death from collision with proliferating wind power but rising temperatures could cut ranges by 40%

The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change is colliding with preservation of one of the US west’s most spectacular predators, the golden eagle – as the species teeters on the edge of decline.

Ground zero in the conflict is Wyoming, a stronghold for golden eagles that soar on seven-foot wings and a favored location for wind farms.

Right to Roam believes people should respectfully explore the land on their doorstep: after all, we pay subsidies for a lot of it

When the barbed-wire fence began to spread across the British countryside in the late 19th century, it was not met with equanimity. Huntsmen complained of terrible accidents resulting from their horses vaulting the unexpected wire, while members of the House of Lords railed that “nothing was more calculated to destroy the amenities of country life”. What reason was there, asked Lord Thring in 1893, “why a child wandering along the roadside picking cowslips and blackberries should be liable to have its hands lacerated and its clothes torn by these fences?”

Today, barbed wire is an accepted feature of the countryside; a misanthropic aberration faded into the background of daily life. It is the symbol of a sick culture that fetishises private property rights at the expense of all that is good, humane and beautiful. That’s why I and others have taken to mass trespass.

Jon Moses is a freelance writer and organiser for Right to Roam

Measure will come into force from 24 August, affecting 15m customers in Thames Valley and London

Thames Water has announced a hosepipe ban across the south of England, which will affect 15 million of its customers.

The ban will come into force from 24 August, affecting people in London and the Thames Valley area.

Shanghai, Moscow and Tehran have the highest levels of NO2 pollution, according to the research

Cities in relatively prosperous countries are blighted by serious levels of air pollution from nitrogen dioxide, often without realising the extent of the problem, research has found.

Moscow is the world’s second worst city for nitrogen dioxide pollution, behind Shanghai in China, while St Petersburg takes fourth place. Other cities near Russia follow close behind, including Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, and Minsk, capital of Belarus, at seventh and eighth place respectively, according to the research, published on Wednesday.

Forests in Russia are most affected, as scientists warn of escape of huge quantities of buried carbon dioxide

The boreal forests in the far northern latitudes have suffered more tree cover loss owing to fire in the last decade than any other place on Earth, with Russia losing more trees to fire than any other country, data has shown.

The boreal region is a huge stretch of coniferous forests that encircles the northern hemisphere taking in parts of Scandinavia, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Alaska and Canada, among other countries.

Harnessing natural insect power can, with proper management, have higher efficacy than resorting to harmful chemicals

Ants can be more effective than pesticides at helping farmers produce food, according to new research. They are better at killing pests, reducing plant damage and increasing crop yields, according to the first systematic review of ants’ contributions to crop production.

Ants are generalist predators and hunt pests that damage fruits, seeds and leaves, leading to a drop in crop yields. A greater diversity of ants generally provides more protection against a wider range of pests, the study found.

The regulator approved a rescuer of Southern that hardly had a clean record in the sector

Ofwat is not a complete patsy and is in the business of holding companies to account, the chief executive of the water regulator argued on the Today programme on Tuesday. David Black even waved a metaphorical big stick at a couple of firms. “I think that companies like Thames and Southern really need to up their game,” he said.

He described Thames as “a repeated poor performer”. And he said Ofwat’s £126m penalty on Southern in 2019 for wastewater and reporting breaches was instrumental in forcing a change of ownership last year. “That’s an example of a company that performed poorly, that was held to account by Ofwat and the investors lost their shirt,” argued Black. “That is exactly as it should be.”

Firefighters are struggling to contain large wildfires tearing through forests in Valencia. Powerful winds have made the fires difficult to put out and it has swept through 6,500 hectares. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from nearby villages. Spain has been simultaneously struggling with another blaze in the Aragon region, which has forced authorities to evacuate 1,500 people. According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System, 659,541 hectares of land burned across the continent between January and mid-August, 260,000 of which has been in Spain alone

• Wildfires in Europe burn area equivalent to one-fifth of Belgium
• ‘It’s much easier to stop someone lighting a match than to put out a 1,000-acre fire’

Artist Philip Chatfield hopes river journey will alert people to damage being done by poultry excrement

It was not the most elegant start to the day. The sculpture was trundled down to the Herefordshire riverbank on a sack truck borrowed from a builder before being bolted and strapped to a makeshift catamaran constructed out of two canoes.

But after that, it was much more graceful and serene as the peculiar vessel was pushed off into the current, and craft and carving, Our Lady of the Waters and the Wye, began to meander downstream.