The Guardian

Researchers also find impact of bottled water on ecosystems is 1,400 times higher than that of tap water

The impact of bottled water on natural resources is 3,500 times higher than for tap water, scientists have found.

The research is the first of its kind and examined the impact of bottled water in Barcelona, where it is becoming increasingly popular despite improvements to the quality of tap water in recent years.

Exclusive: Area twice the size of London devoted to grouse shooting in UK’s parks, threatening efforts to tackle climate crisis

National parks supposedly at the heart of efforts to tackle the climate crisis and boost nature are dominated by intensively managed grouse moors, according to new research.

Driven grouse moors, which are associated with the controversial burning of vegetation and the illegal persecution of birds of prey, make up 44% of the Cairngorms national park, 28% of the North York Moors and a fifth of the Peak District, a study by the charity Rewilding Britain has found.

Thinktank InfluenceMap accuses petroleum giants of gaming Facebook to promote oil and gas as part of climate-crisis solution

Facebook failed to enforce its own rules to curb an oil and gas industry misinformation campaign over the climate crisis during last year’s presidential election, according to a new analysis released on Thursday.

The report by the London-based thinktank InfluenceMap identified an increase in advertising on the social media site by ExxonMobil and other fossil-fuel companies aimed at shaping the political debate about policies to address global heating.

It’s true farmers are facing a lot of regulation but only after decades of fighting off smaller reforms – we need them to change

In July, an estimated 60,000, mostly rural New Zealanders took to the streets to protest environmental regulations farmers say are unworkable. Angry and frustrated, they rolled into 57 towns and cities on tractors and trucks to form the country’s biggest farmer protest.

I grew up in rural New Zealand, and many of my family work in and around the dairy industry – so I have experienced a lot of this frustration first hand.

Leading expert says outlawing use of chemicals in private and public areas could slow insect decline and protect human health

A leading insect expert has called for a UK-wide ban on the use of pesticides in gardens and urban areas to protect bees, wildlife and human health.

Dave Goulson, a professor of biology at the University of Sussex, said outlawing chemical spraying in the country’s 22m private gardens, along with road verges, parks and other green spaces, could slow insect decline by creating a network of nature-friendly habitats where insects can recover.

Populations in flood-prone regions is increasing, with 57 countries especially susceptible

From Germany to New York City, this summer has demonstrated the destructive force of floods. Now, a new study shows that many more people will live in flood-prone areas in the coming decade and reveals the population in areas likely to flood is increasing at a greater rate than other places.

The study, which was published in the journal Nature today, used daily satellite observations of floods during 913 large flood events between 2000 and 2018.

It is not good to be too pessimistic on the climate crisis. That said, it sure does seem like we’re screwed

If you have cultivated an Edgar Allen Poe-like appreciation for the macabre, there is a certain sort of amusement to be had in watching the developed world deal with the insistent onslaught of climate change. Like many horror stories, this one features a main character full of futile determination to maintain a sense of normalcy even as the ominous signs of doom become ever more impossible to ignore. We can chuckle knowing that the monster is going to come for our designated protectors. We stop chuckling knowing that it’s coming for all of us next.

Related: Wildfire fighters advance against biggest US blaze amid dire warnings

Researchers found 20 areas where the mammal would survive even if grey squirrels colonised all of Britain

Twenty forest strongholds in Scotland would save the red squirrel from extinction even if grey squirrels were to colonise the whole of Britain, according to research.

Since their introduction from North America by Victorian enthusiasts, grey squirrels have pushed red squirrels out of much of the country, with reds outcompeted by the bigger greys and also succumbing to the squirrelpox virus carried by the non-native squirrel.

The Green Alliance thinktank found more than 450,000 jobs could be created by minimising waste

Reusing and repairing household goods, from washing machines to phones, and recycling throwaway consumer items such as plastic bottles, could create hundreds of thousands of green jobs across the UK, a thinktank has found.

The UK creates thousands of tonnes of unnecessary waste each year, some of which is still exported, because of a failure to value resources and invest in the infrastructure needed to re-purpose manufactured goods.

If the price of oil rises further, the firm’s move away from oil and gas output will fuel doubts

• BP raises dividend and unveils share buyback

It’s hard to keep up with oil companies’ dividend policies. One minute they’re slashing payments to shareholders in the face of a pandemic that, supposedly, had permanently lowered the outlook for oil prices. The next they’re saying the coast is clear and divis can rise again.

Shell last week provided a classic example of this stop-start approach when, having cut by two-thirds last year, it announced a 38% increase. BP offered a less chaotic picture on Tuesday but the basic plot was similar. Last year’s halving of the divi was followed by a 4% increase, rather than the previously flagged zero.

Exclusive: Labour leader says prime minister’s lack of ambition risks failure of Cop26

• Opinion: Britain could be taking the lead in tackling the climate crisis. Where’s the ambition?

Vital UN climate talks are at risk of failure because Boris Johnson is “missing in action” while his climate spokesperson talks about freezing bread, Keir Starmer has warned.

The Labour leader said there is already “dystopia” all around caused by climate breakdown, but Johnson’s ambition to tackle the scale of the crisis is irresponsibly small.

Ahead of Cop26, the Tories are failing to act on their promises. Labour’s bold green recovery plan shows what could be done

• Boris Johnson ‘missing in action’ ahead of vital climate talks, says Keir Starmer

It used to be said of a good politician that they were able to make the weather. The metaphor has acquired a literal sense in recent years as humanity’s effect on the climate has become clear. In early July, downpours and flash floods hit parts of Glasgow. As I begin a two-day visit to the city tomorrow, the world is looking ahead to November, when countries’ representatives will gather in Glasgow for the 2021 UN climate change conference (Cop26). The world is looking to Britain, as host of the summit, to deliver. We cannot afford to miss this moment, but I fear we will.

The urgent need for a coherent response is in front of our very eyes. In recent weeks flash floods have immobilised parts of Britain, Germany and China. Towns built on rivers have been destroyed and there have been frightening scenes of train commuters trapped underground in rising water. Record heatwaves and fires have ravaged parts of North America. All over the world, unusual weather events show that dystopia is not on the horizon. It is here today, all around us.

The animals have suffered from drought, wildfires, habitat destruction, as well as poisoning and trapping

The slender, bushy-tailed Sierra Nevada red fox will be listed as an endangered species, federal wildlife officials announced, saying its population has dipped to just 40 animals in an area of California stretching from Lake Tahoe to south of Yosemite national park.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service decided against listing a distinct population of the foxes in the southern Cascade Range of Oregon and near Lassen Peak in northern California. But it said in a listing rule to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday that the Sierra Nevada segment south of Tahoe “is in danger of extinction throughout all of its range”.

Victim was mauled while planting trees after logging operation

Police in Canada say a 26-year-old woman working on a tree-planting operation in Alberta was killed by a black bear on Saturday, in a rare attack by one of the country’s largest predators.

The woman was mauled by what witnesses believe was an adult black bear in a remote area of northwest Alberta. A co-worker who witnessed the attack helped scare off the bear before calling for help.

Electric cars able to do long journeys and there are increasing number of chargers on UK roads, say experts

Electric car experts have rallied to the defence of the vehicles after suggestions from a government spokeswoman that they were unsuitable for long journeys.

Electric cars have an average range of about 200 miles, suitable for the vast majority of journeys taken on British roads, while top-range models have a more extensive range of about 250 miles.

Finnish firm Rens says shoes made from used grounds and recycled plastic will be climate neutral

It is the typical morning routine for hundreds of thousands of Britons: have a cup of coffee and then slip on your trainers before heading for a jog. Upon returning, a quick drink of water to rehydrate before stepping into the shower.

Now, one firm has enabled one thing to beget another, by creating trainers made of recycled plastic bottles and used coffee beans.

Climate campaigners say HSBC’s involvement is ‘cynical’ attempt to distract from investments in coal power

A group of the UK’s biggest financial institutions plan to hasten the phasing out of coal power in Asia by buying out fossil fuel plants in order to shut them down within 15 years.

Finance giants including lenders HSBC, Citi and BlackRock Real Assets together with UK insurer Prudential are working with the Asian Development Bank on the plans, according to a report by Reuters. There have also been “promising” early talks with Asian governments and multilateral banks.

As with elephants and orcas, worldly wisdom and childcare brings group-survival perks, research suggests

Pillars of family life, the community and often the workplace, grandmothers are a crucial component of human society – now researchers say they may also play an important role among giraffes.

Experts conducting a review of giraffe social behaviour say female giraffes live for about eight years after they can no longer reproduce – up to about 30% of their lives.

Over-reliance on tree-planting to offset carbon emissions could push food prices up 80% by 2050

Governments and businesses hoping to plant trees and restore forests in order to reach net-zero emissions must sharply limit such efforts to avoid driving up food prices in the developing world, the charity Oxfam has warned.

Planting trees has been mooted as one of the key ways of tackling the climate crisis, but the amount of land needed for such forests would be vast, and planting even a fraction of the area needed to offset global greenhouse gas emissions would encroach on the land needed for crops to feed a growing population, according to a report entitled Tightening the net: Net zero climate targets implications for land and food equity.

Allegra Stratton cites time taken to recharge on long journeys, despite average electric vehicle now having range of over 200 miles

Boris Johnson’s climate spokesperson has criticised the infrastructure that she says is putting people like her off switching to an electric car.

Allegra Stratton, the prime minister’s former press secretary, revealed she drove a “third-hand” diesel Volkswagen Golf.