The Guardian

Eight houses have been swept into the sea in Norway after a powerful landside near the town of Alta. The landslide was filmed by a local resident, Jan Egil Bakkedal – one of the houses that was lost belonged to him – who said he ran for his life when he realised what was happening. 

Twenty thousand tonnes of diesel fuel spilled into a river inside the Arctic Circle forcing Vladimir Putin to order a state of emergency.

The spill occurred when a fuel reservoir at a power plant near the city of Norilsk collapsed on Friday. The plant is operated by a division of Nornickel, whose factories in the area have made the city one of the most heavily polluted places on Earth

• Putin orders state of emergency after huge fuel spill inside Arctic Circle

Scientists find coronavirus crisis has had little impact on overall concentration trend

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen strongly to a new peak this year, despite the impact of the global impacts of the coronavirus crisis.

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 417.2 parts per million in May, 2.4ppm higher than the peak of 414.8ppm in 2019, according to readings from the Mauna Loa observatory in the US.

Transport and Environment says airline industry bailout should have green conditions attached

International flights taking off from the UK must be taken into account in the government’s calculations on reaching net zero emissions as part of a “green” recovery for the airline industry, a transport thinktank has urged.

The government has given loan bailouts to airlines totalling £1.5bn since the coronavirus outbreak, with no environmental conditions attached.

Investigation uncovers ties between financial institutions and three Brazilian firms connected to environmental destruction

British-based banks and finance houses have provided more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in financial backing in recent years to Brazilian beef companies which have been linked to Amazon deforestation, according to new research.

 Thousands of hectares of Amazon are being felled every year to graze cattle and provide meat for world markets.

Analysis by Yale and Columbia universities shows US lagging far behind other industrialized countries in a range of categories

The US is far behind other industrialized nations on environmental performance and now ranks 24th in the world, according to a new analysis by Yale and Columbia universities. 

Related: US lets corporations delay paying environmental fines amid pandemic

A bicycle scheme is shaving hours off long journeys to get milk fresh to market, boosting women’s incomes and benefiting their whole community

• All photographs by Simon Davis/Unfold Stories

People with asthma and other lung conditions report decrease in symptoms, finds survey

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Two million people in the UK with respiratory conditions such as asthma have experienced reduced symptoms during the coronavirus lockdown, according to the British Lung Foundation.

A survey by the charity of 14,000 people with lung conditions found one in six had noticed improvements in their health. Among children, the figure was higher, with one in five parents saying their child’s condition had been alleviated. Asthma sufferers in particular reported benefits, with one in four noting relief.

President lambasts power plant owner ‘for not reporting earlier’ incident bigger than Kerch spill

Vladimir Putin has ordered a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel fuel spilled into a river inside the Arctic Circle.

The spill occurred when a fuel reservoir at a power plant near the city of Norilsk collapsed on Friday.

The judgment against the agency could lead to forestry operations being assessed under national environmental laws for the first time in 20 years

A landmark court judgment that a government forestry agency repeatedly breached conservation regulations has sparked calls for a review of an industry-wide exemption for logging under national environment laws.

Last week the federal court found VicForests, a body owned by Victorian taxpayers, breached a code of practice in a regional forestry agreement (RFA) between the federal and state governments covering the state’s central highlands.

Too often, by default, black people are perceived as threats to white people’s physical safety. We need fundamental, consequential and absolute change

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In the summer of 1997, I lived in Seattle. I worked at a temp job while preparing to start my master’s degree in the fall. I was walking to a bus stop after a day at the office, when I stepped into a pothole on the street and heard my ankle crack. 

Feeling lightheaded and fearing I would black out, I limped in search of a payphone, and found that when I looked to passersby for help, no one stopped. I reached a corner and saw a young white man and woman with two kids. With tears in my eyes, I asked for their help. But like everyone else, they backed away and left me alone.

Risk is greater in rural areas, according to study of nearly 3 million births over 10 years

Living near active oil and gas wells during pregnancy increases the risk of low-birthweight babies, especially in rural areas, according to the largest study of its kind.

Researchers analysed the records of nearly 3 million births in California to women living within 6.2 miles (10km) of at least one oil or gas well between 2006 and 2015. It is the first such study to look at birth outcomes in rural and urban areas, and to women living near active and inactive oil and gas sites. 

The president has fomented hate, underplayed coronavirus and unleashed a financial crash. But there is rising resistance

It is claimed that the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, had a prophetic start to his political career: he was accused (a controversial trial found him not guilty) of devising an aborted plan to press for higher wages by detonating bombs in his army barracks. Decades later, he finally seems to have managed to blow something up: his country’s image overseas.

Given his government’s thoroughly irresponsible handling of the pandemic, Brazilians are now seen as a walking biological threat. Since 27 May, they have been banned from entering the US. It is already one of the nations worst hit by Covid-19 and studies indicate that the number of deaths may surpass 125,000 by August. Bolsonaro has dismissed the disease as a ‘little flu’.

Those who can, should go back to work, Boris Johnson has said. But how will people get to work safely? If we take public transport, will there be enough space to physically distance? If we take the car, will the roads cope with all the extra traffic? Josh Toussaint-Strauss tries to figure out some answers, with the help of Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor

‘We are seeing the end of coal,’ says analyst as energy source with biggest impact on climate crisis falls for sixth year in a row

Solar, wind and other renewable sources have toppled coal in energy generation in the United States for the first time in over 130 years, with the coronavirus pandemic accelerating a decline in coal that has profound implications for the climate crisis.

Not since wood was the main source of American energy in the 19th century has a renewable resource been used more heavily than coal, but 2019 saw a historic reversal, according to US government figures.

Growth often doesn’t benefit the people who need it – a green economy could create 1 million jobs

The UK lockdown might be easing, but the path ahead for the economy will be long and difficult. Unemployment this quarter is likely to rise twice as fast as it did following the global financial crisis. Almost half of businesses that have taken up one of the government’s bounce-back loans do not expect to be able to pay it back.

It’s tempting in a crisis to want to do whatever it takes to get economic activity – measured by GDP – back to where it was before. But an overwhelming and singular focus on increasing GDP would be a mistake. GDP figures do not tell us who is benefitting from growth. GDP does not tell us whether environmental resources – and nature – are being dangerously depleted, and does not reflect the value of caring, much of which is performed by women.

Cleaner skies were a silver lining of pandemic but data indicates air quality receding as lockdowns eased

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Air pollution in China has climbed back to pre-pandemic levels, and scientists say Europe may follow suit.

Air pollution causes at least 8m early deaths a year, and cleaner skies were seen as one of the few silver linings of Covid-19. Experts have called for action to help retain the air quality benefits of lockdowns, and measures taken to date have included expanding cycle lanes and space for walking in cities.

Campaign to End Wildlife Trade has launched a campaign calling on Boris Johnson to support a global trade ban for wildlife at the G20 meeting of world leaders in November, to protect wildlife and help prevent future zoonotic pandemics.

The images below provide examples where animals are traded for food, entertainment, traditional medicine and as exotic pets.

If we still rely on international supply chains for wind, solar and other projects, Australian jobs will be foregone

From the World Bank and the International Energy Agency to Australia’s own Reserve Bank and a host of national industry bodies the message is clear: our path out of the great economic collapse triggered by Covid 19-must put renewable energy and a decarbonised society at its centre.

However, a business-as-usual approach to renewable energy development means Australia will still miss out on the full benefits of the decarbonisation of our economy. If we still rely on extended supply chains from international markets for the components needed for wind, solar and other projects, skilled and enduring Australian jobs will be foregone.

Remembering Wildlife, the groundbreaking charity picture book series, has announced the 10 winners of its photography competition to appear in its forthcoming book, Remembering Cheetahs, which will help to protect the world’s most endangered big cat. There are only around 7,100 cheetahs left in the wild. The book will be published on Monday 12 October and the winning images will be printed alongside stunning images donated by many of the world’s leading wildlife photographers