Environment | The Guardian
- From drones to genomics, science can help fight extinction: that work must begin at Cop16 | Angela McLean October 21, 2024As nations meet in Colombia to confront species and ecosystem loss, the onus is on the global north to put science and collaboration at the heart of the issueAngela McLean is chief scientific adviser to the UK governmentBiodiversity, the incredible variety of life on Earth, is the backbone of the ecosystems that allow life on […]Angela McLean
- ‘I’m not voting for either’: fracking’s return stirs fury in Pennsylvania town whose water turned toxic October 21, 2024The small town of Dimock saw its water become brown, undrinkable, even flammable – and its residents are still feeling the effectsFracking has burst back on to the national stage in the US presidential election contest for the must-win swing state of Pennsylvania. But for one town in this state that saw its water become […]Oliver Milman in Dimock, Pennsylvania with photographs by Thalía Juárez
- Cop16 at a glance: the big issues that will define talks at Colombia’s UN summit October 21, 2024Delegates from 196 countries are discussing progress in preserving biodiversity. So what are the sticking points?Every two years, leaders from around the world gather to discuss the state of life on Earth, negotiating agreements to preserve biodiversity and stop the destruction of nature. This week, representatives of 196 countries are gathering in Cali, Colombia, for […]Patrick Greenfield
- We were left out in the cold over a faulty heat pump installation October 21, 2024Trying to get some redress from green energy installers when things go wrong is a long, hard slogTwo years ago I signed a £14,409 contract for a heat pump installation and paid the deposit. Three weeks after the pump was fitted, the company that installed it, Omni Heat and Power, went into liquidation. It had […]Anna Tims
- Humanity is on the verge of ‘shattering Earth’s natural limits’, say experts in biodiversity warning October 21, 2024As the Cop16 conference begins, scientists and academics say human activity has pushed the world into a danger zoneHumanity is “on the precipice” of shattering Earth’s limits, and will suffer huge costs if we fail to act on biodiversity loss, experts warn. This week, world leaders meet in Cali, Colombia, for the Cop16 UN biodiversity […]Phoebe Weston
- UK rivers contain ‘cocktail of chemicals and stimulants’ endangering aquatic life October 21, 2024Exclusive: Researchers find 61% of fresh waters in the UK contain high levels of phosphate and nitrateThe UK’s rivers contain a cocktail of chemicals and stimulants including caffeine, antidepressants and painkillers from water company sewage releases, polluting freshwaters at levels which can pose a risk to aquatic life, testing has found.Results from three days of […]Sandra Laville
- Country diary: The last warm day of the year, and the woodland is changing | Kate Blincoe October 21, 2024Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Above, the canopy is opening up, letting the light in; below, fungus is beginning to sprout from the dark soilA snake swishes across the lane in front of me. Moving like nothing else does, a glitch in the matrix. It’s a small, slender grass snake, dark olive with a pale yellow collar. […]Kate Blincoe
- UK appoints first nature envoy to tackle species decline October 20, 2024Ruth Davis named special representative for nature ‘to put climate and nature at the heart of our foreign policy’The government has appointed the UK’s first envoy for nature, a former environment campaigner described as “the environmentalist’s environmentalist”, who will be charged with forging global agreement on halting the precipitous decline of species.Ruth Davis, the new […]Fiona Harvey and Patrick Greenfield
- The ride of our lives: why the horse is crucial to human history October 20, 2024Humans and horses have been entwined throughout history, one could not have thrived without the other, according to a new book that explores a unique bondIt was a heart-stopping sight. On 24 April this year, blood-drenched horses galloped through rush-hour traffic in central London, smashing chaotically into a tourist bus and a taxi, before careening […]Mike Power
- Degrowth has an image problem it desperately needs to overcome | Larry Elliott October 20, 2024We need to deal with the climate effects of global capitalism the way we deal with inflation – by applying the brakesThe impact of the climate crisis is evident everywhere. Finance ministers meet in Washington DC this week for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in the wake of two devastating hurricanes in […]Larry Elliott
- Cop16: Colombia prepares to host ‘decisive’ summit on biodiversity October 20, 2024Experts say UN event will be critical for world’s declining wildlife population as host nation pushes for inclusivityWorld leaders, environmental activists and prominent researchers have begun to arrive in Cali, Colombia, for a biodiversity summit that experts say will be decisive for the fate of the world’s rapidly declining wildlife populations.The host nation is also […]Luke Taylor
- ‘The bully of the bird table’: how the humble starling conquered the world October 19, 2024Some celebrate them, others despise them. Yet this mimicking, competitive and acrobatic songbird still exerts a powerful fascinationA stream of people heads steadily down the path, towards the viewpoint over the reedbed. As I walk alongside them, I’m reminded of a crowd heading to a football match, or a gathering of medieval pilgrims hoping for a miracle.There […]Stephen Moss
- Hamza Yassin looks back: ‘I lived in my car for nine months while I cut my teeth as a wildlife cameraman’ October 19, 2024The TV presenter on pet lions and monkeys, moving to the UK from Sudan, and his love for the Scottish HighlandsBorn in Sudan in 1990, Hamza Yassin is a wildlife cameraman and TV presenter. With a BA in zoology with conservation, and a master’s in biological imaging and photography, Hamza had his first presenting experience on The […]Harriet Gibsone
- The stench of my local landfill points to a massive problem that Britain isn’t solving | Jennifer Sizeland October 19, 2024Toxic emissions, health risks and leaching pollution – better management of landfill sites is a matter of urgencyLast summer, people living around the perimeter of Pilsworth South landfill in Bury, Greater Manchester, couldn’t open their windows because of the elevated levels of hydrogen sulphide in the air. Referred to as “sewer gas”, its rotten-egg stench […]Jennifer Sizeland
- Pylons rule and rural beauty is up for sale. Why do those in power so hate the countryside? | Simon Jenkins October 18, 2024Ed Miliband seems happy to see the landscape blighted. We value townscape – everywhere else has to fend for itselfDoes Labour believe in beauty? The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, celebrated his arrival in office this summer by permitting three of the largest solar panel arrays in Britain. One, a Suffolk array covering nearly 2,800 acres, […]Simon Jenkins
- Week in wildlife in pictures: happy elephants, a tiny koala and baboons taking liberties October 18, 2024The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...Joanna Ruck
- Under the microscope: Nikon Small World photomicrography 2024 – in pictures October 17, 2024Spider eyes, butterfly wing scales, truffle spores and slime mould come under the spotlight in the 50th anniversary of the Nikon Small World photomicrography competition. The award celebrates photography through the light microscope, capturing the breathtaking beauty of a world hidden from the naked eyeA year in focus: Walkley award photographic finalists 2024 – in […]Guardian Staff
- ‘Scramble for the oceans’: how countries are racing to name and claim remote parts of the seabed October 17, 2024Newly ‘discovered’ underwater topographical features are paving the way for nation states to exploit previously untouched marine resources“The sea does not belong to despots,” Jules Verne wrote in 1869 in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. “Upon its surface men can still exercise unjust laws, fight, tear one another to pieces, and be carried away […]Donna Ferguson
- Sydney beaches to remain closed, Randwick mayor says – video October 17, 2024Some of Sydney's most popular swimming spots including Coogee and Gordons Bay beaches will remain closed after thousands of mysterious balls washed ashore. Preliminary test results identified the dark spheres as 'tar balls' – which are formed when oil comes into contact with debris and water, usually as a result of oil spills or seepage. […]Guardian Staff
- Microplastics found in dolphin breath for first time – study October 16, 2024Research suggests the marine animals are inhaling pollutants when they come up for air, with even rural populations affectedMicroplastics have been found in dolphin breath for the first time, according to a study that suggests the marine mammals are inhaling the potentially harmful contaminants when they come up for air.The US research team, whose preliminary […]Karen McVeigh