The Guardian

Research has shown community opposition to GM foods is broader than just health concerns

New South Wales lifted its ban on genetically modified crops this month, after an 18-year moratorium. It follows the repeal of a similar moratorium in South Australia last year, making Tasmania the last Australian state with a blanket ban on GM crops.

The move has been welcomed by GM proponents as helping farmers become more resilient to the effects of climate change, but opposed by organic farming representatives.

Environment minister calls for ‘due process’ to be followed before 21-country United Nations committee rules on the reef

Australia is demanding world heritage experts carry out a monitoring mission to the Great Barrier Reef before an international committee decides if it should be placed on a list of global sites in danger.

The Australian government on Monday night briefed international ambassadors and Paris-based delegates to Unesco as part of lobbying efforts to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the in-danger list.

This is a desperate quick fix to try to rescue power station owners from an onslaught of renewable energy they should have seen coming

Largely unnoticed by much of the press, the federal government and its Energy Security Board have dreamed up a plan to bail out the owners of coal-fired generators, and it’s you who will be paying the bill.

Most of the private-sector owners of these coal-fired generators bought these power stations for a song, at prices well below the replacement cost of the power plants. One of them, Trevor St Baker (number 149 on the Financial Review Rich List 2021 with a net worth of $727m), picked up his power plant – Vales Point – for less than the price of the average Sydney home at $1m. AGL, which paid a fair bit more than $1m for Liddell and Bayswater, nonetheless still boasted to investors that it had paid so little for these power plants that it could shut Liddell immediately and the deal still made fantastic money.

Threat to health of five-year-old triggers proceedings over fumes from Walleys Quarry landfill near Newcastle-under-Lyme

A five-year-old boy from Staffordshire has begun legal action against the Environment Agency over fumes from a landfill site that a medical expert has said is shortening his life expectancy.

Campaigners said a letter to begin legal proceedings had been sent on behalf of Mathew Richards, who was born prematurely and has significant respiratory health problems that have been worsened by fumes from a landfill site near his home in Silverdale, near Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Victim, 65, felt a nip in the genital area shortly after sitting on the lavatory at his home in Graz

An Austrian man was bitten by a 1.6-metre (5.25-foot) python during an early-morning visit to the toilet at his home, police have said.

The 65-year-old victim “felt a ‘nip’ in the genital area” shortly after sitting on the toilet at home in Graz just after 6am on Monday, according to a statement from police in Styria province. He then looked into the toilet and discovered the albino reticulated python.

Company awaits sentencing after admitting 51 violations in biggest-ever Environment Agency investigation

Southern Water discharged enormous volumes of raw sewage into protected coastal waters for nearly six years causing “very considerable environmental damage” because it was cheaper than treating it, a court has heard.

This was “the worst case brought by the Environment Agency in its history”, the court was told. Southern Water had acted “deliberately” and had reaped “considerable financial advantage” by allowing the discharges.

While millions of people around the world have gone into lockdown amid the coronavirus crisis, a family in the Ecuadorian Amazon has opted to move deeper into the relative safety of the jungle. 

As they reconnect with dormant ancestral knowledge, away from the distractions of modern life, their affinity with nature begins to flourish. As news spreads that Ecuador might lift lockdown soon, will the family stay?

The 2021 fire season is predicted to be among the worst – which is saying something, because last year’s burned 10.5m acres and killed at least 43 people

On the first day of summer, I woke up to the acrid smell of hot tar. Even before my sleepy brain could name the source, my body tensed with anxiety: wildfire season was underway. Given the deepening drought and record-setting heat across most of the American west, this year’s fire season is widely predicted to be among the worst in recent memory – which is saying something, because last year’s was grotesque.

More than 10.5m acres burned across the region in 2020, the highest annual total since accurate records began nearly 40 years ago. At least 43 people died as a direct result of the flames, and researchers estimate that thousands more died from the effects of sustained smoke inhalation. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, and evacuations lasted weeks, accelerating the spread of the coronavirus. In rural Washington state, where I live, my neighbors and I were trapped inside for days by smoke so thick we could barely see across the street.

Kevo in Lapland recorded a temperature of 33.6C after Finland registered record heat in June

Nordic countries have registered near-record temperatures over the weekend, including highs of 34C (93.2F) in some places.

The latest figures came after Finland’s national meteorological institute registered its hottest temperature for June since records began in 1844.

Black patterns used to attract mates can cause the insects to overheat in hotter climates

Male dragonflies are losing the “bling” wing decorations that they use to entice the females as climates get hotter, according to new research.

The results have led to the scientists calling for more work on whether this disparate evolution might lead to females no longer recognising males of their own species in the long run.

All but one of the herd of 13 were born in captivity, but conservationists hope they can be ‘rewilded’

A herd of elephants born and raised in a Kent zoo are about to get on a plane to travel almost 4,500 miles (7,000km) to Kenya, in order to reintroduce them to the wild in a first-of-its kind operation.

The herd of 13, which includes three calves, were all but one born at Howletts Wild Animal Park, a private zoo near Canterbury. The mammoth mission to “rewild” the elephants is being carried out by the Aspinall Foundation, the Kenya Wildlife Service and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Study finds between $1.57bn and $1.69bn in financing went to coal, oil and gas projects from 2009 to 2020

Australia’s export credit agency provided more than $1.5bn in finance to fossil fuel projects between 2009 and 2020, about 80 times the amount it spent on renewables, according to a new report.

The research, by Jubilee Australia, examined transactions by Export Finance Australia (EFA) – previously known as the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation – finding it had provided between $1.57bn and $1.69bn in financing to coal, oil and gas projects, including refinancing.

Black patterns used to attract mates can cause the insects to overheat in hotter climates

Male dragonflies are losing the “bling” wing decorations that they use to entice the females as climates get hotter, according to new research.

The results have led to the scientists calling for more work on whether this disparate evolution might lead to females no longer recognising males of their own species in the long run.

NSW Ambulance praises bystanders who delivered ‘crucial initial first aid’ to surfer

A man has sustained a serious injury after a shark took a “significant bite” out of his arm while he was surfing on the NSW mid-north coast.

The man, believed to be aged in his 20s, was surfing at Crescent Head Beach on Monday 4.30pm when he was attacked.

Survey in 16 countries finds just over half of consumers believe their own behaviour can help

A small majority of people believe there is still time to make a difference and slow global heating, a survey of consumer attitudes in 16 countries reveals.

People aged 55 and over believe most strongly that their behaviour can make a positive difference to the environment. People in Brazil, Spain, Canada, Italy, China and Thailand are the most optimistic that if we act now there is still time to save the planet, the survey by Mintel found.

Top US diplomat in Canberra says US and Australia have a shared obligation to protect the planet

The top US diplomat in Australia has declared both countries need to set “more ambitious climate goals” and tackle the climate crisis “head on”, as international pressure mounts on the Morrison government to act.

Mike Goldman, who is chargé d’affaires at the United States embassy in Canberra, emphasised that the US and Australia had a shared obligation to protect the planet.

Experts say now’s the time to get on top of the destructive impact of the invasive species on vulnerable ecosystems

If there is one thing beef cattle farmer Ted Rowley has learned while trying to manage feral deer on his property, it is this: for every deer that you see, there are at least another 10 that you can’t see.

“In the beginning you see a few deer and think that’s pretty cute,” he says. “But what you don’t see is the very large number that are across the landscape.”

Developers use this laden word when they want to obliterate wildlife and its habitats, to demonise anyone who objects

If there’s one word in the English language that I’d like to get rid of, it’s nimby. The acronym – for “not in my back yard” – is often used by developers and politicians to deride local protesters who stand up to housebuilding. “Nimbys”, they claim, are self-interested, live in nice houses, in nice places and want to deny these privileges to newcomers. In my opinion, the word is a spectacular example of how language can stand reality on its head: developers are not champions of the people and those who oppose them are certainly not selfish.

The postmortem of the Chesham and Amersham byelection, where many voters, upset at environmentally destructive local projects, voted for the Liberal Democrats, brought accusations of nimbyism out in force. The Daily Telegraph declared the win “a victory for nimbys”, adding that it was “no reason to give up on planning reform” – reforms which, needless to say, look set to confer most benefit on Tory-donor housebuilders. Even sympathetic commentators couldn’t resist the cliche: the “voters may possibly be nimbys”, said Polly Toynbee, “but that doesn’t make them wrong on this”.

Companies must have human rights and environmental obligations, say TUC and Amnesty International

Almost 30 organisations have joined forces to call for the UK to follow in the footsteps of its European partners by introducing corporate accountability laws requiring companies to undertake human rights and environmental due diligence across their supply chains.

The groups, including the TUC, Friends of the Earth and Amnesty International, say systemic human rights abuses and environmentally destructive practices are commonplace in the global operations and supply chains of UK businesses, and voluntary approaches to tackle the problem have failed.

As a doctor in a big city hospital I am part of a privileged class with air con and water. But millions have neither

Karachi’s heat hits you like a wall when you wake up in the morning. When you are up and getting changed, and the humidity hits you in the chest, you realise it’s going to be really hot today. But it’s another day, so you grab your bag and go to work.

Related: Nowhere is safe, say scientists as extreme heat causes chaos in US and Canada