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There is a rich history of people really loving frogs. But the history of human-frog relations is long and complicated – and not all of it is nice. Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women's History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University Andrea Gaynor, Professor of History, The University of Western Australia Andy Flack, Senior Lecturer in Modern and Environmental History, University of Bristol Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Successive Australian governments have kicked the can down the road when it comes to the climate crisis – and colourful activism has followed them every step of the way

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Switzerland’s KlimaSeniorinnen are taking the government to the European court of human rights for doing too little to tackle the climate crisis

The women, mostly in their 70s, strode up the mountain with dogged grace. Clacking their hiking poles against sun-cooked rocks, they set sure feet on shaky stones and held hands to cross slippery streams. They knew the heat and strain were a threat to their health – they were perhaps uniquely aware of the risks – but they did not plan to let it limit their lives.

“I’m a mountain climber,” said 73-year-old Pia Hollenstein, brushing away the hand I offered to help her down a big rock. “I can manage.”

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Climate change is upsetting the regular rhythm of the seasons, making plants and wildlife more susceptible to disease.

Local communities and indigenous groups can now set up partnerships to produce and sell renewable energy.

Countries less able to rebuild or who have contributed least to climate crisis suffer worst, research reveals

A list of the 20 costliest climate disasters of 2023 has revealed a “global postcode lottery stacked against the poor”, according to an analysis.

The research by the charity Christian Aid found that devastating wildfires and floods are hitting those who can least afford to rebuild, and the countries that have contributed least to the climate crisis by burning far fewer fossil fuels than wealthy nations, which have faced fewer climate disasters.

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One way to protect our ecosystems is to confer legal rights on them. This idea is at the heart of the ‘rights of nature’ movement – but Australia has few examples of this principle in action. Alexandra McEwan, Lecturer: Law, CQUniversity Australia Michael Hewson, Senior Lecturer Geography Rolf Schlagloth, Koala Ecologist, CQUniversity Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate Defiance, trying to make the climate crisis a top issue in 2024 election, isn’t afraid to anger ‘cowards’ and ‘criminals’

A climate protest group backed by a cadre of Hollywood film-makers is preparing to take action against “cowards” and “criminals” of all political stripes as the 2024 election approaches.

Climate Defiance, which disrupted events featuring a string of Biden administration officials this year, and targeted Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, in December, will consider protesting at events staged by both Democrats and Republicans on the campaign trail after concluding that its “very disruptive” action was bearing fruit.

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International Ski Federation urged to cut emissions, while activists warn of damage through heavy use of snowmaking

After promising early dumps of snow in some areas of Europe this autumn, the pattern of recent years resumed and rain and sleet took over.

In the ski resorts of Morzine and Les Gets in the French Alps, the heavy rainfall meant that full opening of resorts was delayed until two days before Christmas, leaving the industry and the millions of tourists planning trips to stare at the sky in hope.

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This year's heat and drought in the Amazon intensify worries that it is approaching a tipping point.

Australia has nearly 100 mistletoe species and they’re the source of plenty of magic and mystery. We even have a couple with their own home-grown associations with Christmas. Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Platypuses have not been seen in the Torrens since the 1880s, but now the river may be healthy enough to support the species again

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In May 1872, Adelaide’s doctors were surveyed about the “noxious effluvia” emanating from the River Torrens, the South Australian Advertiser reported. John Burn wrote to the paper to say he endorsed their condemnation of “the filthy state of Adelaide – a city of stenches”.

“If any of our citizens be sceptical, I would suggest his taking a stroll along King William Street on to the Morphett Street Bridge, where he might tarry a wee bit for the inhalation of the horridly pestiferous vapours there to be enjoyed,” Burn wrote.

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Amid all the hysteria about ChatGPT and co, one thing is being missed: how energy-intensive the technology is

What to do when surrounded by people who are losing their minds about the Newest New Thing? Answer: reach for the Gartner Hype Cycle, an ingenious diagram that maps the progress of an emerging technology through five phases: the “technology trigger”, which is followed by a rapid rise to the “peak of inflated expectations”; this is succeeded by a rapid decline into the “trough of disillusionment”, after which begins a gentle climb up the “slope of enlightenment” – before eventually (often years or decades later) reaching the “plateau of productivity”.

Given the current hysteria about AI, I thought I’d check to see where it is on the chart. It shows that generative AI (the polite term for ChatGPT and co) has just reached the peak of inflated expectations. That squares with the fevered predictions of the tech industry (not to mention governments) that AI will be transformative and will soon be ubiquitous. This hype has given rise to much anguished fretting about its impact on employment, misinformation, politics etc, and also to a deal of anxious extrapolations about an existential risk to humanity.

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Horticulture charity says climate breakdown is influencing trends, based on inquiries from gardeners

Fruits that thrive in hot weather and can now be grown in the ever-hotter UK summers, and weeds such as cow parsley to decorate borders, are among the 2024 garden trends predicted by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Climate breakdown has influenced most of the trends predicted by the horticulture charity, which seeks insights from its more than 600,000 members to forecast which plants may be in fashion in the coming year. While its trends list used to be based on simply which blooms were in vogue, now it highlights the quirks of gardening in a changing climate amid collapsing biodiversity.

Greening grey spaces Creative ways to green up grey urban spaces has become a major new trend as city gardeners are growing successfully in pots, growing up instead of out and using innovative ways of colonising indoor space, including terrariums.

Grow your own The RHS gardening advice service and website continues to see growth in “grow your own”. The most popular plants are tomatoes, followed by cucumbers, courgettes, chillies and runner beans.

Purple power Purple vegetables have traditionally been difficult for the home gardener but now breeders have begun introducing purple varieties that are easier to grow than traditional ones and avoid previous drawbacks, such as non-fruiting and limited purple colour, especially after cooking. Gardeners and chefs can anticipate purple carrots, cauliflowers, broccoli, tomatoes, peas, radish, French beans and lettuces.

Climate change fruits Recent hot dry summers are ideal for certain fruits, grape vines being an outstanding example – but others include figs, almonds, apricots, melons, peaches/nectarines and watermelons.

Local seed provenances and survivalist gardens After the temporary hiccup to the vegetable supply chain last spring, some gardeners now favour growing with more independence, including where they source their seeds.

Going wild Plants traditionally seen as unwanted weeds such as herb robert and plantain are becoming popular. Cow parsley is now a desirable border plant and dandelions are recognised as being key to providing food for bees early in springtime.

Gardening with nature The move away from classical, formal layouts towards naturalistic landscapes will continue to grow, with gardens making people feel that they are in a wild place and providing benefits to wellbeing, wildlife and ease of maintenance.

Planet-friendly gardening Gardeners will be increasingly in tune with nature: inquiries to the RHS about wildlife gardening increased by more than 28% in 2023.

Houseplants reach the next level – Tropical-looking plants and orchids which create a “jungle vibe” have become popular, as has growing up instead of out. Favourites will include epipremnum, sedum morganianum, and old favourites such as string of hearts and spider plants.

Succulents Driven by houseplants and sourcing drought-resistant bedding, interest in succulents is increasing, with commercial landscapers introducing the hardier ones into landscapes. New cultivars are also being released, including aeonium, cotyledon and crassula.

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Lib Dem analysis finds 4,574 hours of sewage has been spilled in festive swimming spots in the last year

Long-established Christmas seaside swimming locations have been flooded with sewage over the last year, prompting concern that swimmers could fall ill.

They would not be able to claim compensation, as Tory MPs earlier this month blocked a Lib Dem amendment that would have allowed anyone who got sick as a result of illegal sewage dumping to claim from water companies.

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Exemption under federal environment law to allow scientists to collect 25 of the critically endangered ‘walking fish’

Scientists in Tasmania will remove up to half of the island’s “emblematic” red handfish from the wild ahead of expected marine heatwaves deemed an existential threat to their survival.

The critically endangered Tasmanian red handfish population has fallen to between 50 and 100 in the wild, due to the degradation of the seaweed habitat it needs to breed.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report

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A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

The Washington Department of Ecology (ECY) has revealed the list of entities registered to hold allowances and offsets in the state's WCI-modelled cap-and-invest programme throughout Q4, with the number of companies more than 70% higher than entities that have qualified to bid in auctions.

Compliance entities in the California Carbon Allowance (CCA) market grew both V23 and V24 holdings, while speculators in the RGGI Allowance (RGA) market did the same, as Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) market saw both groups add to their net length, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday.

An exchange backed by the Taiwanese government saw trade in international carbon credits on its inaugural day on Friday, with solid interest from domestic companies.