The Guardian

Fatberg found in Sidmouth, Devon, contained no toxic chemicals or microplastic beads

The dirty secrets of a huge fatberg discovered lurking under the seafront of a Devon town have been laid bare after scientists carried out an “autopsy” of the monster.

As expected, household cooking fats, wet wipes and other hygiene products were key components of the 64m-long beast (bigger than the Leaning Tower of Pisa) but it also contained bits of bone, twigs, string – and false teeth.

Exclusive: discovery comes as authorities investigate tonnes of sediment choking creek near development site

Contaminated water has been discovered spilling from a luxury Gold Coast estate development into a Ramsar-listed wetland site, amid a broader investigation into an unfolding “environmental catastrophe” at the once-pristine waterway.

On Thursday the Gold Coast council notified the Queensland Department of Environment and Science that a “private recycled water main” at the Serenity Cove site had broken. Guardian Australia understands the contamination is likely grey water, which authorities advise has the potential to turn septic or breed micro-organisms.

Quarter of mammals and nearly half of birds assessed are at risk of extinction, says State of Nature report

Populations of the UK’s most important wildlife have plummeted by an average of 60% since 1970, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date.

The State of Nature report also found that the area inhabited by officially designated “priority species” has shrunk by 27%. The species are those deemed most important and threatened, and include hedgehogs, hares and bats, many birds such as the willow tit and the turtle dove, and insects such as the high brown fritillary butterfly.

Massive global expansion of tuna fisheries also poses a threat to sharks and other species, says study

Scientists have warned that existing levels of tuna fishing are unsustainable after researchers found that global catches have increased more than 1,000% over the past 60 years.

A study in the journal Fisheries Research estimated that about 6m tonnes of tuna are now caught annually, a rate that “risks driving tuna populations to unsustainable levels and possible extinction”.

Extinction Rebellion activists have sprayed 1,800 litres of fake blood on the Treasury's building in Westminster.

Protesters used an out-of-commission fire engine to drench the front of the building in red liquid and also erected a banner that read: 'Stop funding climate death'

• Extinction Rebellion protesters spray fake blood on to Treasury

• ‘Time is running out’: Extinction Rebellion activists on why they risked arrest

Activists use fire engine to launch water dyed red towards London government building

Four Extinction Rebellion activists have been arrested after spraying fake blood at the Treasury in Westminster from the top of a fire engine.

Dressed in funeral attire, the protesters criticised the UK’s military role in the Middle East, highlighted how UK companies cause large fossil fuel emissions and called on others to rebel.

Greenhouses bigger than O2 centre will be able to grow 10% of UK’s homegrown crop

People in Britain will soon be able to feast on tomatoes grown with the help of a water treatment plant in what backers say is a world first.

One of the UK’s largest clean energy funds has revealed plans to invest £120m in a pair of low-carbon greenhouses in Norfolk and Suffolk, large enough to grow 10% of the UK’s homegrown tomato crop.

Huge floating boom finally retains debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, creator says

A huge floating device designed by Dutch scientists to clean up an island of rubbish in the Pacific ocean that is three times the size of France has successfully picked up plastic from the high-seas for the first time.

Boyan Slat, the creator of the Ocean Cleanup project, announced on Twitter that the 600-metre (2,000ft) long floating boom had captured and retained debris from what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Mangrove monitoring trip to remote coast finds shocking impact of two cyclones across hundreds of kilometres

A cascade of impacts including rising sea levels, heatwaves and back-to-back tropical cyclones has created 400km of dead and badly damaged mangroves in the Gulf of Carpentaria, a scientific monitoring trip has discovered.

Prof Norman Duke, of James Cook University, spent 10 days monitoring 2,000km of coastline from a helicopter, as well as conducting land-based checks at 32 estuaries along the coastline between Weipa, Queensland, and Cape Barrow in the Northern Territory.

President had said agency would issue a notice because city allowed waste from homeless population to flow into the ocean

The Trump administration issued an environmental notice of violation to San Francisco on Wednesday, fulfilling Donald Trump’s threat to cite the city over an inaccurate claim that linked water pollution with the city’s homeless crisis.

Trump said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would issue a notice because the city allowed needles and waste from its homeless population to flow from the sewer system into the ocean – an allegation city officials disputed. In a letter Wednesday, the EPA administrator, Andrew Wheeler, accused the city of improperly discharging waste into the bay, but avoided mentioning Trump’s comments directly.

Queensland LNP says it supports a greater focus on energy efficiency measures

One of the biggest detractors of the federal Queensland Liberal National party’s push to investigate nuclear energy as a potential power source for Australia has come from within its own house.

The state LNP opposition has publicly declared its opposition to making any changes to the current bipartisan ban on nuclear energy generation, declaring the government would be better served in its goals by focusing on renewable energy sources, in a marked split from their federal state colleagues.

Former Nationals leader says he agrees with Labor that government needs to ‘get cracking’ on dam construction

Barnaby Joyce says the Coalition risks “political annihilation” in the bush if the drought worsens and it does not start building dams, as Labor lashes the government for failing to produce a national drought strategy.

The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, toured drought-affected Stanthorpe in Queensland on Wednesday, saying parts of the state were clearly suffering “natural disaster” and criticising the government for failing to build a single dam since being elected in 2013.

Scotland Yard plans ‘proactive and swift’ counter-action as forces send extra officers to London for October protest

Specialist police teams will be heading to London this weekend to help deal with two weeks of protests planned by Extinction Rebellion, the environmental activists who brought the capital to a standstill over Easter.

Metropolitan police will be put on 12-hour shifts from Monday, the first day of Extinction Rebellion’s action, to free up as many officers as possible from regular duties.

There has been no sign of Naya or the pups she was carrying since May

The first wolf to have been spotted in Belgium for more than 100 years has not been seen since May, and environmentalists believe she is likely to have been killed.

The wolf, given the name Naya, was first sighted in Belgium in the north-east province of Limbourg in January 2018. She was fitted with a collar containing a transponder to track her movements.

Sailing ship leaves Amsterdam for COP25 climate summit with 36 campaigners on board

A group of environmental activists have set sail from Amsterdam on a seven-week voyage to South America to attend the UN climate conference.

It had been raining on the Amsterdam waterfront on Wednesday but the sun came out in the early afternoon as a small crowd waved farewell to the 36 activists and five crew on the boat.

Initiative aims to improve the animals’ feeding efficiency and reduce methane emissions

Scientists are working to breed sheep that produce less greenhouse gases in order to reduce their impact on the environment.

The Grass to Gas initiative will combine international scientific and industry expertise to measure two major factors affecting the environmental consequences of the livestock – feed efficiency and methane emissions.

As North Sea cod and wild Atlantic salmon added to at-risk list, calls grow for simplified rules

• Shoppers told to avoid North Sea cod and wild Atlantic salmon

Overfishing is the greatest single threat to marine life, and at least a third of the world’s key populations of fish species are currently overexploited while most of the remainder are reaching their limits. Meanwhile, climate chaos and the scourge of plastic are only adding to the oceans’ problems.

Conditional trade agreement covers eggs from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay

A trade agreement to import produce into the European Union is set to be conditional upon animal welfare requirements for the first time.

Eggs imported from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to member states will only be duty-free if the hens are kept in line with EU standards under the provisional terms of the new EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

Exclusive: species added to at-risk list as numbers fall, but hake and plaice are booming

Consumers are being urged to steer clear of North Sea cod and wild Atlantic salmon – and eat more herring, plaice and hake – in a fresh attempt to alleviate pressure on threatened stocks.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) will publish its updated 2019 Good Fish Guide this week, setting out which is the most sustainable seafood and what to avoid in order to help safeguard of at-risk species in UK waters.

Plastic is everywhere – in our food, air, water and oceans. But do we know enough to determine how harmful it is to our health?

If you enjoy a spot of food, like to breathe air and partake in the occasional drink of water (tap or bottled), then you’re almost certainly an unwitting consumer of microplastics.

People who use triangular nylon tea bags are the latest group to be shocked at their exposure to plastics. According to one study, they could be getting about 11bn or so particles of plastic with their Earl Grey or breakfast tea.