The Guardian

What do you do if smog has made your fields unfit for grazing? Put sculptures of sheep on them instead. Lu Guang’s shot of phoney livestock in China is just one of many intriguing images from the International Festival of Photojournalism in Perpignan, France

Paula Kahumbu: The sale of rhino horn in South Africa won’t help save rhinos, but it will benefit organised crime

South Africa has just launched the first ever legal rhino horn auction. If you are based in South Africa and would like to buy some rhino horn you can place your bid here.

This is not a government auction, although it is sanctioned by the South African government. It has been organised by private rhino rancher, John Hume, who took the government to court and won the right to sell 265 rhino horns weighing about 500 kg. Trade in rhino horn is illegal in most countries, but the black market value of one kilogram is said to be USD 100,000—more than the price of platinum.

West Knoyle, Wiltshire It skitters up the fabric to the pinnacle, dropping down several feet then looping back up again, and again, and again

Taking respite from the hubbub of milling outdoor and bushcraft enthusiasts attending the Wilderness Gathering, I lie back under the shade of a conical bell tent. Gazing upwards into the canvas peak I watch a wasp skittering up the ivory fabric to the pinnacle, dropping down several feet then looping back up again, and again, and again.

Related: Conservationists slam 'hateful' survey promoting wasp killing

Initiative to convert CO2 into solid carbonates aims to produce building materials on commercial scale by 2020

An Australian pilot project capturing carbon emissions and storing them in building materials aims to have a full-scale production plant by 2020.

Mineral Carbonation International, an Australian company developing carbon-utilisation technology will officially launch its technology and research program at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources on Friday.

As interior secretary recommends boundary changes to Donald Trump, three national monuments are reportedly at risk of being reduced in size

In April, Donald Trump ordered a sweeping review of 27 national monuments, from Maine to Oregon. The monuments were set aside over the last three decades by Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama. Trump’s review sought to explore whether the protected land should be opened up to create economic opportunities for industries such as oil, gas, mining and timber.

Related: US public lands: Trump official recommends shrinking national monuments

Special report: India and China are shifting away from coal imports and coal-fired power while a mega-mine is planned for Queensland. Where does this leave coal in Australia?

• Coal in decline: an industry on life support
• Support our independent journalism and critical reporting on energy and the environment by giving a one-off or monthly contribution

The Paris-based International Energy Agency was born in a crisis. In the wake of the 1973 oil shock, as Arab petroleum producers withheld supply from countries that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur war, the then US secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, called on the OECD to set up a new body to ensure its members would always have the reliable and affordable energy they needed.

Over time, as the agency has expanded its focus to map broader energy trends, it has sometimes faced accusations of conservatism – that it has underestimated the uptake of renewable energy, and has been overly bullish about the future of fossil fuels. But last month it released a report that pointed to a rupture more far reaching than the 70s oil embargo.

We want to hear from people who monitor air quality data and inspect other forms of pollution locally. Get in touch with us here

The issue of air pollution has recently been thrust into the news after the UK government lost court cases over illegally dirty air. It has been estimated that poor air quality contributes to the shortening of the lives of around 40,000 people a year.

Councils are required to monitor the air quality in their district under the Environment Act 1995. Local authorities must conduct regular reviews and assessments and submit their findings to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Brazilian president has dissolved Renca to attract investment in region thought to contain gold, with critics warning of irreversible damage

The Brazilian president Michel Temer has abolished an Amazonian reserve the size of Denmark, prompting concerns of an influx of mineral companies, road-builders and workers into the species-rich forest.

The dissolution of the Renca reserve – which spans 46,000 sq km on the border of the Amapa and Para states – was described by one opposition senator Randolfe Rodrigues of the Sustainability Network party, as the “biggest attack on the Amazon of the last 50 years”.

Interior secretary Ryan Zinke says his recommendations include boundary adjustments for some locations among 27 national monuments

Conservation safeguards on a “handful” of national monuments across the US could be rolled back following the delivery on Thursday of the White House’s long-awaited review of such public lands, interior secretary Ryan Zinke said.

Related: Trump's day of doom for national monuments approaches

Climate change has thawed Arctic enough for $300m gas tanker to travel at record speed through northern sea route

A Russian tanker has travelled through the northern sea route in record speed and without an icebreaker escort for the first time, highlighting how climate change is opening up the high Arctic.

The $300m Christophe de Margerie carried a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Hammerfest in Norway to Boryeong in South Korea in 22 days, about 30% quicker than the conventional southern shipping route through the Suez Canal.

Wildfires in the US and Africa, tropical storms, and Bolivian salt flats are among the images captured by Nasa and the ESA last month

Pakistan’s Makran coast meets the Arabian Sea where the dry terrain contrasts sharply with the water. Sometimes coast and water overlap and sediment pours into the sea. Once river water and sediment reach the ocean they are swept along by currents. Inland, the landscape is rugged. Narrow valleys provide pastures for sheep amid the desert.

In the USA, the southeastern states are most vulnerable to the costly impacts from human-caused climate change

Humans are causing Earth’s climate to change. We know that. We’ve known it for decades. Okay so what? The follow-up questions should be directed to what the effects of warming will be. What will the costs be to society, to the natural biosystem, and to human lives? Let’s be honest, if the consequences of warming are not large, then who cares? But, if the consequences are severe, then we should take action now to reduce the warming. This really comes down to costs and benefits. Are the benefits of reducing emissions greater or less than the costs?

But there is a nuance to the answer. The costs are not uniformly distributed. Some regions will suffer more and other regions will suffer less. In fact, some regions will actually benefit in a warming climate. We understand that the world is interconnected and costs will inevitably be shared to some extent. But it is clear we won’t all suffer the same.

Sandy, Bedfordshire Nectar shoppers flutter out of nowhere, a mass of moths, midges and mosquitoes chopping across the torchlit path

Under a moonless, starless, benighted sky, head torches were switched on and we struck out across the riverside meadow. We had walked for several sure-footed minutes along a closely grazed towpath where white yarrow rosettes glowed like solar garden lights. The only hazards on that firm ground had been the nearly invisible giant plates that I stepped on and found to have hard crusts and soft hearts.

Related: Country diary: Sandy, Bedfordshire: The river is my guiding light

Special report: The pace of coal plants shutting down in Australia could mean the country’s fleet could be gone before 2040. The transformation is enormous – and seems inevitable

• Support our independent journalism and critical reporting on energy and the environment by giving a one-off or monthly contribution

For a glimpse into the future of coal power in Australia, go west. The country’s last major investment in coal-fired electricity was in Western Australia in 2009, when Colin Barnett’s state government announced a major refurbishment of the Muja AB station about 200km south of Perth, far from the gaze of the east coast political-media class.

The plant was 43 years old and mothballed. Reviving it was meant to cost $150m, paid for by private investors who would reap the benefits for years to come. But costs and timeframes blew out. An old corroded boiler exploded. The joint venture financing the project collapsed; a wall followed suit. The bill ultimately pushed beyond $300m, much of it to be stumped up by taxpayers – and once completed, the plant was beset with operational problems. It ran only 20% of the time.

Bicycles offer endless opportunities for modification, both practical and decorative. We’d like you to share your bicycle projects with us

From converting a multi-speed hub into a fixed gear, adding downtube shift levers or simply a comfy seat, a bicycle offers endless opportunities for the DIY enthusiast. We’d like you to share your bicycle modifications with us.

Whether it’s to help those with mobility problems, to transport your children or just to look like the coolest rider on the street, there are any number of ways to make your bike even better.

Government officials and fellow conservationists paid tribute to Wayne Lotter at a special memorial yesterday

Hundreds of people gathered at Baobab Village in Dar es Salaam to pay tribute to Wayne Lotter on Tuesday evening, as tributes continued to come in from around the world.

Lotter, 51, was shot and killed last week while travelling in a taxi from the airport to his hotel on Dar es Salaam’s Msasani Peninsula. Lotter, who co-founded PAMS Foundation, a conservation nonprofit, was responsible for supporting anti-poaching efforts that had led to the arrests of more than 2000 ivory poachers and traffickers, and had taken down several key poaching syndicates in the country. He had received numerous death threats since starting the organization in 2009.

Charlie Alliston should have had a front brake but 18mph is a cautious speed and double standards are at work here

A heavy-handed prosecution against a cyclist for manslaughter has failed but a charge of “wanton and furious driving” has succeeded.

In 2016 more than 400 pedestrians were killed on UK roads. Each a terrible tragedy to those involved and almost all avoidable. One of these casualties, Kim Briggs, died after a collision between herself and a teenage cyclist, Charlie Alliston.

Big Wasp Survey encourages volunteers to build homemade traps then send dead wasps to entomologists to monitor populations

Drowning wasps in beer in the name of science may seem a socially acceptable way to exterminate a seasonal pest. But a citizen science survey “harnessing the public’s dislike of wasps” has been criticised for its “hateful language” and for unnecessarily killing rare insects.

The Big Wasp Survey is encouraging 2,000 volunteers to build homemade bottle traps before posting the dead wasps to entomologists to produce a clearer picture of the much-maligned insect’s decline.

Wildlife protection has become an increasingly dangerous business as rangers face armed gunmen and poachers

Three rangers have been killed in separate countries in a deadly month for wildlife defenders.

A ranger at Serra da Capivara national park, in Brazil’s north-eastern Piaui region, was killed by hunters on 18 August. Edilson Aparecido da Costa Silva and two other colleagues were patrolling the park when they were ambushed by a group of four armed men who are believed to have been hunting in the park illegally. Costa Silva was killed in the shootout that followed, while the other two rangers were injured.

Farmer sends gift of sausages to thank Wiltshire firefighters who rescued piglets and two sows from fire in barn

A farmer whose piglets were saved from a barn fire has served the animals up as sausages to thank the firefighters who rescued them.

The baby pigs and two sows were freed by firefighters from Pewsey in Wiltshire when a barn went up in flames in February.