The Guardian
Tim Winton on a wild life in Ningaloo, where the desert meets the sea – in pictures
Twenty years ago, it was so obscure you couldn’t refer to the place without maps and graphics. These days, thanks to an historic campaign to save it from inappropriate development, many know Ningaloo as a coral reef in remote north-western Australia – an ecosystem distinguished by remoteness, astounding megafauna and healthy corals. In short, a world heritage-listed reef in the middle of dusty nowhere. Where folks go to swim with a whale shark or a humpback whale.
But, for those better acquainted, Ningaloo is more than just a coral reef – it’s a region. And a lifestyle. For most locals, it’s a life choice as well. There’s only one town in the whole shire and you’ll find it 1,300km north of Perth, perched near the end of a vast peninsula that seems inclined to peel free from the rest of the continent. Exmouth isn’t a place you stumble into on the way to somewhere else; you were either determined to get there, or once you arrive you realise you’ve taken one hell of a wrong turn.
This is a place that attracts the curious and retains the hardy. The people who call it home are a peculiar mix from all over the world – tradies, ecotour operators, rangers, new-fangled entrepreneurs – and to some degree they all become a little bent out of shape. By the heat, the isolation and the singular beauty of a desert-maritime landscape. With so few places like Ningaloo left anywhere on Earth, its people stick around for what nature can still provide the adventurous spirit – a wild life where the desert meets the sea.
• Tim Winton: I’m face to face with Ningaloo’s living miracles and it feels holy
Continue reading...'The climate doesn't need awards': Greta Thunberg declines environmental prize
The teen activist implored politicians and people in power to ‘listen to the best available science’ in an Instagram post
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has refused to accept an environmental award, saying the climate movement needed people in power to start to “listen” to “science” and not awards.
The young climate activist, who has rallied millions to her “Fridays for Future” movement, was honoured at a Stockholm ceremony held by the Nordic Council, a regional body for inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Continue reading...Butterflywatch: how climate change is clipping UK wings
Lack of suitable habitat is just one reason many butterfly species are not moving north as expected
It seems miraculous that any butterflies can survive a month of rain, but as soon as the autumn sun emerges so do red admirals and the occasional painted lady, en route for the sunnier south.
The 59 British species are perfectly adapted for our weather but adjusting to rapid climate change is more challenging, as two new studies led by scientists from the University of York show.
Continue reading...Food for thought on our carbon footprint | Letters
The close correlation between diet and environment that has been demonstrated by Michael Clark at the University of Oxford (Healthy food choices best for people and planet, study shows, 29 October) is interesting and potentially important. I hope the researchers will extend their studies into the environmental impact of what is variously known as cultured, in vitro or lab-grown meat. These products are now reaching consumers and prices will fall. Ostensibly, they appear environmentally beneficial.
The “meat” is grown from cell samples painlessly extracted from a small number of animals, so killing and long-distance freighting is eliminated. Methane from domestic ruminants will be drastically reduced. Forests need not be supplanted by grazing or soy production for animal feed. Land can be released for growing more plant-based food or to be returned to nature. If it can also be shown that environmental harm is curbed, the role these products can play will be crucial in reducing greenhouse gasses. More research is required as soon as possible.
Patrick Cosgrove
Chapel Lawn, Shropshire
Do you know an owl from an albatross? Test your bird knowledge in this quiz
What Australian bird has a sharp, five-inch toe that is capable of disembowelling you? Take this quiz to find out if you’re a fully fledged bird nerd or someone who needs to look up in the trees a bit more often
Which of the following is not a real Australian bird?
Howard’s duck
Latham’s snipe
Bourke’s parrot
Abbott’s booby
What Australian bird has a sharp, five-inch toe that is capable of disembowelling you?
Emu
Bustard
Cassowary
Ibis
What has been the most commonly seen bird every year of BirdLife Australia’s Aussie Backyard Bird Count since 2014?
Australian Magpie
Rainbow Lorikeet
Noisy Miner
Common Myna
In what country does Australia’s Welcome Swallow spend the winter?
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
England
Australia
Which ‘Australian’ bird is not endemic to Australia?
Australian Brush-turkey
Australian Raven
Australian Bustard
Australian Logrunner
Which migratory Australian seabird washed up in their thousands on the Alaskan coast earlier this year?
Short-tailed Shearwater
Little Penguin
Providence Petrel
White-faced Storm-Petrel
What is the smallest Australian bird?
Silvereye
Weebill
White-winged Fairy-wren
Zebra Finch
What species was “Karak”, the mascot of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games?
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Galah
Gang-gang Cockatoo
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo
What bird has been observed starting fires in order to flush out its prey?
Black Kite
Straw-necked Ibis
Black-breasted Buzzard
Galah
“Custard Head” is the unfortunate colonial name for which species?
Australian White Ibis
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Brown-headed Honeyeater
Pale-headed Rosella
As of 2019, what is the only species of bird to known to have gone extinct on the Australian mainland?
Night Parrot
Paradise Parrot
Orange-bellied Parrot
Golden-shouldered Parrot
Which Australian bird is known to ‘kidnap’ the young of other members of its species?
White-winged Chough
Bell Miner
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Great Bowerbird
After the supply ship Sirius was wrecked off Norfolk Island in 1790, Australia’s second British settlement would have starved to death if it wasn’t for which hapless species of breeding seabird?
Masked Booby
Sooty Tern
Australian Pelican
Providence Petrel
What percentage of magpies swoop?
10%
20%
30%
50%
Which of these birds does not build a mound to incubate its eggs?
Malleefowl
Brolga
Brush-turkey
Orange-footed Scrubfowl
Which of the following is not a native Australian bird?
Eurasian Coot
Eurasian Magpie
European Goldfinch
European Greenfinch
Riflebirds are part of which more famous bird family?
Birds-of-paradise
Bowerbirds
Hummingbirds
Lyrebirds
The Glossy Black-Cockatoo exclusively eats the seeds of which type of tree?
Eucalypts
Banskias
She-oaks
Wattles
The booming call of which bird is thought to have inspired the bunyip myth?
Brolga
Australasian Bittern
Australian Bustard
Emu
The word ‘cockatoo’ is thought to have originated from which language?
English
Dutch
Malay
Noongar
18 and above.
Uber twitcher. Be prepared for people to avoid you at parties.
13 and above.
Impressive. On the verge of being a true bird-nerd.
7 and above.
Not too bad. Keep looking up!
0 and above.
Hmm, looks like you don't know your owls from your albatross.
Continue reading...Coalition anger as dam water flows out to sea in drought-hit Queensland
Decision taken to reduce Paradise dam to 42% capacity amid concerns over its structural integrity in the event of a flood
Four hundred million litres of fresh water is flowing out to sea from storage in drought-afflicted Queensland every day, sparking a fresh rift between Coalition MPs and the state’s Labor government.
As the federal government considers a fresh round of drought measures to respond to the record dry spell, the Queensland government has angered federal MPs by releasing more than 100,000 megalitres of water from the Paradise dam over a 10-week period.
Continue reading...Rising sea levels pose threat to homes of 300m people – study
Figure based on new analysis of coastlines is more than three times previous estimate
More than three times more people are at risk from rising sea levels than previously believed, research suggests.
Land that is currently home to 300 million people will flood at least once a year by 2050 unless carbon emissions are cut and coastal defences strengthened, says the study, published in Nature Communications. This is far above the previous estimate of 80 million.
Continue reading...Global climate emergency: Which issues should we focus on next?
We’d like you to tell us what you’ve liked about the Guardian’s reporting on the climate crisis and what you’d like us to explore in more depth
At the Guardian, we believe the climate emergency is the defining and most urgent issue of our time, and we know it’s the issue our readers feel most passionately about.
Covering the climate crisis is a priority for all our editors and in the last month, we have published the Polluters project – an in-depth investigation into the fossil fuel industry, and the structures behind it – which has gained much attention from readers and news organisations around the world. We also launched our landmark Climate Pledge, which laid out the Guardian’s short and long-term commitments to the environment.
Continue reading...Bus-sized fatberg weighing 40 tonnes cleared from London sewer
Blockage in Greenwich prompts Thames Water to reissue warning about waste disposal
A 40-tonne fatberg the size of a double-decker bus has been cleared from a London sewer by Thames Water engineers who pulled out some of it by hand.
The mass of fat, grease and other materials that weighed the same as three red buses, was discovered earlier this year clogging up a sewer in Greenwich, the water company said.
Continue reading...‘I make tagliatelle with them’: will acorns become the next ‘superfood’?
While foragers harvest mushrooms, nettles and berries, the humble acorn has long been ignored, in the UK at least. That could all be about to change. The Wall Street Journal reports that in South Korea, acorns have achieved “superfood” status, with people devouring “acorn noodles, jelly and powder”. And, last month, the Woodland Trust in the UK published a piece on its website about acorns and how to eat them.
We’re catching on late. Native Americans relied on acorns – rich in nutrients – as a staple part of their diet. They are farmed in China and South Korea, and often ground into flour. Many cultures make acorn “coffee”. They are rich in protein, fats, fibre and essential minerals.
Continue reading...2019 weather photographer of the year winners
More than 5,700 images were submitted overall by almost 2,000 photographers for this year’s Royal Meteorological Society competition
Continue reading...Coalition quietly appoints expert panel to salvage emissions policy
Panel given less than a month to provide recommendations, despite government’s claims on meeting Paris target
The Morrison government has quietly appointed an expert panel to come up with new ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and given it less than a month to come up with recommendations.
In what is being seen by observers as an acknowledgment that its main climate change policy, the $2.55bn emissions reduction fund, is failing to cut national pollution, the government has appointed a panel of four business leaders and policy experts to suggest options to expand it.
Continue reading...Airlie beach shark attack: two Britons injured, one with foot bitten off, in Queensland horror
Two tourists both in a serious condition with lower limb injuries after they were bitten off the Whitsundays coast
A British tourist has had his foot bitten off by a shark during a day cruise in the Whitsunday region of north Queensland.
Two men were airlifted to hospital in Mackay, both suffering serious lower leg injuries after being attacked by the shark in Hook Passage, about 30km from the harbour at Airlie Beach.
Continue reading...Review of federal environment laws will cut 'green tape' and speed up approvals
Environment minister says cutting delays in project approvals could save the economy $300m a year
The Morrison government has promised a review of national environmental laws will “tackle green tape” and reduce delays in project approvals that it said costs the economy about $300m a year.
Hundreds of scientists have asked the government to use a legally required review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) to strengthen the legislation so it could be used to stem a worsening extinction crisis.
Continue reading...Climate protesters clash with police outside Melbourne mining conference
More than 20 activists arrested amid violent scenes, with officers accused of being ‘incredibly hostile’
A climate protester has been taken to hospital and more than 20 others have been arrested while blockading an international mining conference in Melbourne after violent clashes erupted between the group and police.
From 6am on Tuesday, hundreds of activists from a dozen different groups began blocking entry to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Continue reading...Australia’s beloved native birds are disappearing – and the cause is clear | The Conversation
Even species we see every day are sliding towards endangerment due to habitat loss
• Vote here in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia 2019 bird of the year poll
Across parts of Australia, vast areas of native vegetation have been cleared and replaced by our cities, farms and infrastructure. When native vegetation is removed, the habitat and resources that it provides for native wildlife are invariably lost.
Our environmental laws and most conservation efforts tend to focus on what this loss means for species that are threatened with extinction. This emphasis is understandable – the loss of the last individual of a species is profoundly sad and can be ecologically devastating.
Continue reading...Healthy diet means a healthy planet, study shows
Healthier food choices almost always benefit environment as well, according to analysis
Eating healthy food is almost always also best for the environment, according to the most sophisticated analysis to date.
The researchers said poor diets threaten society by seriously harming people and the planet, but the latest research can inform better choices.
Continue reading...California: thousands evacuated as wildfires spread – video
Tens of thousands of people in California have been ordered to evacuate their homes as wildfires spread over the weekend. The Kincade fire in Sonoma County doubled in size on Sunday because of high winds, and wildfires broke out in Los Angeles near the J Paul Getty Museum. About 200,000 people are under evacuation orders across the state and millions are without power.
Continue reading...Why I'm voting No 1 galah in the bird of the year poll | Tracy Sorenson
My riotous childhood confidante has, in adulthood, become my talisman. All I have to do is follow the pink and grey trail
- Vote here in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia 2019 bird of the year poll
One night I had a strange dream. I dreamed the pet pink and grey galah of my childhood gently lifted the little gate on her cage with her beak, and hopped out on to the ground. Her clipped wing forgotten or perhaps no longer relevant, she soared straight up into the subtropical sky over Carnarvon, the tiny town almost 1,000km north of Perth where I grew up, and flew in a giant circle overhead. On her way around, she dipped down to tear a petal from a hibiscus shrub and, with petal in beak, gave me a nod, as if to say thank you, or perhaps just “see you later”, because once she’d made a full circle she flew off into the distance, into freedom.
I woke up in a soulful glow suggesting creativity and alchemy.
Continue reading...Some councils with fewer than 350 residents given $2.5m drought funding
Liberal MP says program is ‘a little blunt’ but Barnaby Joyce says having a small population ‘doesn’t mean it is a small area’
Councils with fewer than 300 people are among those to have received millions of dollars in federal government drought funding, as the Coalition prepares to sign off on new measures to help drought-affected communities.
Cabinet is set to consider further drought assistance on Tuesday, including a proposal from the National Farmers’ Federation for council rate relief, two-year interest free loans, Newstart equivalent wages for farm workers, and top-up payments for isolated school students.
Continue reading...