The Guardian

Doctors say Mathew Richards’ life expectancy has been shortened due to exposure to hydrogen sulphide fumes

The high court has ruled the Environment Agency must do more to protect a five-year-old boy from landfill fumes which doctors say are shortening his life expectancy.

In a judicial review, brought on behalf of Mathew Richards, lawyers argued his respiratory health problems were being worsened by fumes from a landfill site near his home in Silverdale, near Newcastle-under-Lyme.

A recent poll has shown that young people are justifiably anxious about the future of the planet, but also hopeful

There was a rare nugget of hope in the assorted news and polling on the climate crisis last week: 18- to 24-year-olds in Britain are the most optimistic that the planet is still salvageable, with 73% agreeing with the statement presented by YouGov: “We are still able to avoid the worst effects of climate change, but it would need a drastic change in the steps taken to tackle it, and fast.” Only two-thirds of older cohorts held the same view.

Young people’s positive outlook stands in contrast to the actual state of the environment, to which they are extremely attuned: sure enough, the under-30s are much more worried about the climate than any other generation. While, overall, the differences don’t look stark – three-quarters of the young versus two-thirds of those over 65 fall under the umbrella “worried” – twice as many young people as any other cohort described themselves as “very worried”. We should note one quirk of the fieldwork: “very” was the strongest word in the poll. Who knows what depths of anxiety would have been uncovered if the poll had included “extremely worried” or “climbing the wall”. This generation, lacking a retiree’s capacity for denial, has the clearest sense of what its crisis-ridden future might look like. So these young people have to believe that environmental collapse can be averted. The alternative is despair.

Scientists say ozone hole is unusually large for this stage in season and growing quickly

The hole in the ozone layer that develops annually is “rather larger than usual” and is currently bigger than Antartica, say the scientists responsible for monitoring it.

Researchers from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service say that this year’s hole is growing quickly and is larger than 75% of ozone holes at this stage in the season since 1979.

Our response to a mass cetacean hunt reveals man’s duplicitous attitudes to animals

Witnessing the mass movement of wild animals can seem to be a rebuttal of the disastrous news we hear, daily, of our natural environment. We know they are threatened, in their very choreography, but in the sight of them, the eternal optimism of the human spirit is encouraged to think that all is not lost.

In the past few days we’ve seen moving stories of massed southern right whales feeding off New South Wales. Only then, bitterly, to have the Dantean alternative presented to us, in the piles of bloody dolphin carcases on a quay in the Faroe Islands.

The century plant outside my flat grew a monstrous stalk this summer. I have since learned this means its days are numbered – which has painted it in a whole new light

There is a great big plant outside the flats where I live that looks bewildered to find itself there. In Mexico, yes; west London, not so much. Its leaves look like the tongues of giant lizards, with prickly edges and nasty spikes at the tips. This summer, out of their ferocious midst, a thick stalk emerged suddenly and grew, almost overnight, to an astonishing height. There was a certain exhibitionist arrogance about this new weapon in its armoury. I admired it, but feared it a little, too.

Enquiries revealed the plant to be Agave americana. This species is commonly known as the century plant, although typically it lives for between 10 and 30 years. I read with great sadness that it sends up the magnificent, branched stalk only the once, as it comes to the end of its life.

Police arrest activists as Insulate Britain activists target London traffic during morning rush-hour

Dozens of environmental protesters have blocked traffic on Britain’s busiest motorway for the second time in three days.

Activists from Insulate Britain staged the demonstration at several sections of the M25 in London during the morning rush-hour on Wednesday, causing long delays.

Research disproves perception young people want to save planet while older people do not care

A fake generational war over the climate crisis has distorted public thinking and political strategy, when in fact older generations are just as worried about the issue as younger people, according to new research.

The idea that young people are ecowarriors, battling against selfish older generations is a common trope in representations of the environment movement. It has been stoked by instances including Time magazine naming Greta Thunberg their person of the year in 2019, for being a “standard bearer in a generational battle”.

Exclusive: study also shows ‘banana bread’ heard more in 2020 than ‘wind power’ and ‘solar power’ combined

“Cake” was mentioned 10 times more often on UK television shows than “climate change” in 2020, data has revealed. The research showed “banana bread” was a more frequently heard term than “wind power” and “solar power” combined.

The report, from albert, a Bafta-backed sustainability project, also found that individual action, such as recycling, was far more frequently featured than issues that are much bigger drivers of the climate crisis such as energy and transport.

Survey finds 43% believe waterways are in good condition despite widespread problems in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Rivers, streams and freshwater marshes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being devastated by diffuse agricultural pollution and sewage, according to a new report.

Related: Britain’s rivers are suffocating to death | George Monbiot

Many Faroese horrified by what Sea Shepherd group claims was largest such massacre in the islands’ history

• Story contains graphic image that some may find distressing.

Even the staunchest defenders of traditional whaling in the Faroe Islands have condemned the “cruel and unnecessary” massacre on Sunday of a superpod of nearly 1,500 dolphins, which were driven into shallow waters of the Skálabotnur beach on the island of Eysturoy and left writhing for hours before being killed.

The Sea Shepherd group, which has been campaigning to stop the traditional Faroese “Grind” hunt since the 1980s, has claimed Sunday’s hunt was “the largest single killing of dolphins or pilot whales in the islands’ history”, with more animals perishing than in an entire season at the infamous “Cove” at Taiji, Japan.

We have reimagined coverage to bring you local perspectives on larger issues, along with facts, opinion and moments of joy

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Fifteen years ago I took a job at our local newspaper in my southern New South Wales town of 2,000 people.

The eight-page paper had a circulation at that time of about 900 and one journalist. Me. Despite my experience in national and state political reporting, I had never worked for a small-town paper.

Almost half a trillion dollars of support a year harms people’s health, the climate and drives inequality

Almost 90% of the $540bn in global subsidies given to farmers every year are “harmful”, a startling UN report has found.

This agricultural support damages people’s health, fuels the climate crisis, destroys nature and drives inequality by excluding smallholder farmers, many of whom are women, according to the UN agencies.

Introduction of Glanville fritillary leads to emergence of three new species on to Baltic Sea island

When caterpillars of a beautiful butterfly were introduced on to the tiny island of Sottunga in the Åland archipelago, scientists hoped to study how the emerging butterflies would disperse across the landscape.

But researchers did not realise that their introduction of the Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) led to the emergence of three other species on to the Baltic Sea island, which sprang out of the butterfly like Russian dolls.

Because of hoarding by rich countries, those in the global south on the frontline of the crisis will be excluded from the talks

• Mohamed Adow is the director of the climate and energy thinktank Power Shift Africa

As a Kenyan from a farming community that has experienced the ravages of the climate crisis, no one is keener to see a successful climate summit held in Glasgow than me. But this year, due to restrictions placed by the pandemic on those attending from the global south, I fear Cop26 will not be a success. It is because of this that it must be postponed until next spring.

The UK government is aware of the issues facing those wishing to attend the conference in person, which is why it has offered vaccines to delegates unable to receive them in their home countries and to pay for their hotel quarantine. However, obstacles still remain. The vaccine rollout has been slow, and for those receiving the AstraZeneca jab, the deadline for receiving both doses within eight to 12 weeks of the conference starting has passed.

Paul McCartney and Cara Delevingne also collaborate on picture stories to highlight species and ecosystem loss and fund projects

Ricky Gervais is the latest celebrity to join an ambitious year-long storytelling campaign called Rewriting Extinction with the launch of a comic called Bullfight.

Since it launched in June, more than 300 celebrities, environmental experts and storytellers have collaborated to design more than 150 comics that tackle issues such as deforestation and overconsumption. Actor and writer Gervais created Bullfight with artist Rob Steen. “A beautiful animal, literally tortured to death as entertainment. Psychotic. Fuck anyone who enjoys or defends it,” said Gervais.

Campaigners say draft regulation contains many loopholes, including exclusion of Cerrado and Pantanal

The fragile Cerrado grasslands and the Pantanal wetlands, both under threat from soy and beef exploitation, have been excluded from a European Union draft anti-deforestation law, campaigners have said, and there are many other concerning loopholes.

The European Commission has pledged to introduce a law aimed at preventing beef, palm oil and other products linked to deforestation from being sold in the EU single market of 450 million consumers. But campaigners said a leaked impact assessment reveals “significant omissions” in the plans, including the exclusion of endangered grasslands and wetlands, as well as products that raise environmental concerns, such as rubber and maize.

Report by climate groups found more than three-quarters of projects were discarded after the deal was signed

The global pipeline of new coal power plants has collapsed since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, according to research that suggests the end of the polluting energy source is in sight.

The report found that more than three-quarters of the world’s planned plants have been scrapped since the climate deal was signed, meaning 44 countries no longer have any future coal power plans.

Global survey finds most 16-25 year olds worry a lot about the future, and many feel failed by governments

Four in 10 young people around the world are hesitant to have children as a result of the climate crisis, and fear that governments are doing too little to prevent climate catastrophe, a poll in 10 countries has found.

Nearly six in 10 young people, aged 16 to 25, were very or extremely worried about climate change, according to the biggest scientific study yet on climate anxiety and young people, published on Tuesday. A similar number said governments were not protecting them, the planet, or future generations, and felt betrayed by the older generation and governments.

Experts say effective subsidies for new gas boilers run contrary to government targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions

Energy bill-payers will be asked to subsidise the installation of tens of thousands of new gas boilers across the UK under government plans, at a time when experts say gas boilers should be urgently phased out.

Experts said it was baffling that ministers should be promoting the installation of new fossil fuel boilers, instead of low-carbon dioxide alternatives such as heat pumps.

Warning comes as Climate Council report finds Australia will not have ‘lasting national security’ without addressing climate crisis

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Australia has its “head in the sand” regarding the national security implications of climate change and should follow the US in spelling out the risks, a former senior Australian defence official says.

Australia’s “strategic weakness” on climate policy is also making it harder for the country to be seen as a preferred partner with Pacific Island countries, according to Cheryl Durrant, the defence department’s former head of preparedness.