Analysis shows area includes 9,000 hectares where there was already active logging as pressure grows on government to end practice.Continue readingMore than 40,000 hectares of nationally vital koala habitat marked for potential logging in NSW
Category: The Anthropocene
We found melting of Antarctic ice is disrupting the formation of Antarctic bottom water. The meltwater makes Antarctic surface waters fresher, less dense, and therefore less likely to sink.…Continue readingAntarctic alarm bells: Observations reveal deep ocean currents are slowing earlier than predicted
Environmental groups say the event in Perth to court the biggest polluting oil company of all time is ‘akin to a joint trade show with a tobacco major’Continue readingAustrade forum to promote links with oil giant Saudi Aramco condemned by activists
The researchers were able to identify the country of origin for 232 objects, with the largest percentage being from Japan at 33.6%. China was next at 32.3% followed by…Continue readingMore than 90% of identifiable trash in North Pacific Garbage Patch comes from just six countries
Rapid economic growth, urbanisation and changing lifestyles in communist Vietnam have led to a “plastic pollution crisis”, according to the World Bank. A report in 2022 estimated 3.1 million…Continue readingVietnam battles plastic blight in idyllic Ha Long Bay
About 19 million leisure journeys by car are expected on Britain’s roads over the next four days, and more than 3,000 planes are scheduled to take off on Friday.Continue readingBusy roads and airports expected over late-May UK bank holiday weekend
It is the first time the previously unknown biodiversity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a mineral-rich area of the ocean floor that spans 1.7m sq miles between Hawaii and…Continue readingMore than 5,000 new species discovered in Pacific deep-sea mining hotspot
Plastic production has doubled in 20 years. It wraps food, is woven into clothes and the fabric of buildings, and is an important material for disposable medical products. In…Continue readingHigh-stakes talks to end plastic pollution resume
Three of Europe’s biggest insurers have quit the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance as growing US political pressure and legal fears plunge the climate initiative into crisis.Continue readingThree of Europe’s biggest insurers quit industry net-zero initiative
A new study found that the feces of four primate species living in Uganda’s Kibale National Park, including chimpanzees and red colobus monkeys, contained significant levels of pesticides and…Continue readingEndangered chimpanzees contaminated with pesticides and flame retardants
Since the 1950s about 8bn tonnes of plastic has been produced. The Greenpeace report catalogues peer-reviewed research and international studies showing not only that just a tiny proportion (9%)…Continue readingRecycled plastic can be more toxic and is no fix for pollution, Greenpeace warns
Of 1,006 river and lake sites with data, 814 were found to have these toxic mixtures, according to analysis of data collected by the government’s Environment Agency. The data…Continue readingChemical cocktails harmful to wildlife found in 81% of English rivers and lakes
Seventeen species that were once commonly found in pastures and meadows across 22 countries, including the small copper, common blue and meadow brown, declined by 36% on average between…Continue readingEurope’s grassland butterfly population down more than a third in 10 years
The dangerous and destructive myths of conventional economics include the claims that: Since planetary boundaries have already been exceeded and low-income countries must develop, social justice demands that the…Continue readingSaving humanity: Here’s a radical approach to building a sustainable and just society
Residents have watched ruefully for years as solar plants crept over the horizon, bringing noise and pollution that’s eroding a way of life in their desert refuge. Kevin Emmerich…Continue readingHow solar farms took over the California desert: ‘An oasis has become a dead sea’
Micro and nanoplastics are pervasive in our food supply and may be affecting food safety and security on a global scale, a new study led by CSIRO, Australia’s national…Continue readingPlastic pervasive in food supply, says new study
Climate experts criticised the G7 group of advanced economies for failing to commit to tougher action on fossil fuels after Germany and Japan prevailed on the continued use of…Continue readingG7 disappoints on climate progress without deadlines on gas and coal use
There is a paradox at the heart of our changing climate. While the blanket of air close to the Earth’s surface is warming, most of the atmosphere above is…Continue readingThe Upper Atmosphere Is Cooling, Prompting New Climate Concerns
South Australia’s minister for energy and mining has told a conference of the oil and gas industry in Adelaide that his state government is “at your disposal”.Continue readingSouth Australia tells gas industry the state is ‘at your disposal’
Experts say extreme weather events are happening with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change—and Africa, which contributes the least to global warming, is bearing the brunt.Continue readingFlooding in Somalia displaces 200,000 people: official
50 researchers, 40 years, 28 countries, 550 million fewer birds.Continue readingIntensive farming is biggest cause of bird decline in Europe, study says
Earlier this year, researchers found that summertime fires in boreal forests had expanded since 2000, and contributed close to a quarter of total carbon emissions from wildfires in 2021,…Continue readingWildfires in forests of Canada and Russia put climate scientists on alert
Researchers complain that the oxygen problem doesn’t get the attention it deserves, with ocean acidification and warming grabbing the bulk of both news headlines and academic research. Just this…Continue readingAs Ocean Oxygen Levels Dip, Fish Face an Uncertain Future
“The Albanese government has to make decisions in accordance with the facts and the national environment law – that’s what happens on every project, and that’s what’s happened here,”…Continue readingAlbanese government approves first new coalmine since taking power
The proposed mandate requires existing power plants to start limiting their carbon dioxide emissions in 2030, introducing restrictions that would become more stringent over time. Any new gas power…Continue readingThe EPA tightens pollution standards for power plants, with a big loophole for coal and gas
Equinor and its partners have awarded two contracts for the $9bn BM-C-33 gas and condensate project in the Campos Basin, Brazil to TechnipFMC and MODEC. Equinor holds a 35%…Continue readingEquinor awards contracts for $9bn BM-C-33 gas and condensate project
AR events impacted the country 596 times, 95% of which occurred during a monsoon season. They also found that 54% of the biggest AR events occurred over the past…Continue readingStudy shows warming planet is leading to an increase in ‘atmospheric river’-associated flooding in India
Diana Stralberg, a researcher in Edmonton for the Canadian Forest Service, explained that human-caused climate change is making the fire season longer and causing “extreme fire weather conditions” to…Continue reading‘Perfect storm’ of heat, dryness fuel western Canada’s extreme wildfires
By most accounts, plastic recycling efforts have been a resounding failure. Prior research has shown that only 9% of plastic worldwide is recycled—in the U.S., it is only 5%.…Continue readingRecycling plastics might be making things worse
“The human fingerprints in temperature changes in the mid to upper stratosphere due to CO2 increases are truly exceptional because they are so large and so different from temperature…Continue readingAtmospheric research provides clear evidence of human-caused climate change signal associated with CO₂ increases
“These ice-ocean interactions make the glaciers more sensitive to ocean warming,” said senior co-author Eric Rignot, UCI professor of Earth system science and NASA JPL research scientist. “These dynamics…Continue readingResearchers discover a cause of rapid ice melting in Greenland
On September 8, 2022, at 6.30pm in Britain, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The news broke just 30 minutes before the press embargo lifted on…Continue readingHumanity’s tipping point? How the Queen’s death stole a climate warning’s thunder
Two years ago, a multibillion-dollar natural gas export project planned for Alaska appeared all but dead, the victim of tough economics and Donald Trump’s trade wars. But now it’s…Continue readingAnother big Alaska fossil fuel project gets Biden team’s blessing
Oil from the Fenja field is transported through a 36km long electrically trace-heated (ETH) pipe-in-pipe solution to the Njord A platform for processing and subsequently for transport.Continue readingNeptune Energy and partners begin production from Fenja oil and gas field
“The world will need these vital oil resources to meet future energy demand and help ensure an affordable, just and secure energy transition.” The Uaru field development project, which…Continue readingExxonMobil, Hess take FID on $12.7bn Uaru oil project offshore Guyana
Huawei said the new methods had increased output per shift by almost a third. According to official figures, China had 4,400 coal mines at the end of 2022. But…Continue reading‘Smart mines’ show coal deeply embedded in China’s future
The drought that has left some 4.35 million people in the Horn of Africa in dire need of humanitarian aid – with 43,000 in Somalia estimated to have died…Continue readingGlobal warming made Horn of Africa drought possible: WWA study
Life in the ocean’s “twilight zone” could decline dramatically due to climate change, new research suggests. The twilight zone (200m to 1,000m deep) gets very little light but is…Continue readingTwilight zone at risk from climate change
Large swathes of the world’s oceans are warm. Unusually warm. The heat this year is likely to break records. Since mid-March, the global average sea surface temperature is over…Continue readingIn hot water: here’s why ocean temperatures are the hottest on record
Italian energy company Eni has launched the Congo LNG project, which will be the first natural gas liquefaction project in the Republic of the Congo. The midstream project, which…Continue readingEni lays foundation stone of 3MTPA Congo LNG project
The ferocious temperatures, which have persisted across parts of Asia for more than a week, amounted to the “worst April heatwave in Asian history ongoing in more than a…Continue readingAsia’s prolonged April heatwave concerns scientists
The deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean have rested undisturbed for millennia. But now creatures living thousands of metres beneath the surface may be confronted by new visitors: companies…Continue reading‘Playing with fire’: the countdown to mining the deep seas for critical minerals
Local governments in energy-hungry Chinese provinces approved at least 20.45 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power in the first three months of 2023, Greenpeace said. That is more than double…Continue readingChina approves coal power surge despite emissions pledge: Greenpeace
Equinor Energy and its partners have started production from the Bauge oil and gas field in the southern Norwegian Sea, which has been developed with an investment of NOK4.6bn…Continue readingEquinor begins production from Bauge oil and gas field in Norwegian Sea
About 2.4 million people in Thailand have sought hospital treatment for medical problems linked to air pollution since the start of the year, health officials said, as toxic smog…Continue readingThailand air pollution leads millions to seek medical help
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are now losing more than three times as much ice a year as they were 30 years ago, according to a new comprehensive…Continue reading‘Devastating’ melt of Greenland, Antarctic ice sheets found
We analyzed fire danger trends in different elevation bands of the Western U.S. mountains from 1979 to 2020. Fire danger describes conditions that reflect the potential for a fire…Continue readingFire danger in the high mountains is intensifying, shows study of four decades of data
Extreme temperatures described as ‘worst April heatwave in Asian history’ as records threatened in India, China, Thailand and Laos.Continue readingSevere heatwave engulfs Asia causing deaths and forcing schools to close
The devastation of areas like the Buriganga comes into greater focus in the run-up to Earth Day, when people worldwide mobilise in support of protecting the environment.Continue readingPhotos: Life along a ‘dead’ river in Bangladesh
Six months without notable cold spell was ‘amazing’ given record rainfall during same period, Bureau of Meteorology says.Continue readingCentury-old Sydney weather record broken with 184 days of 20˚C or higher
In 2022 the summer minimum was less than 2 million square km for the first time since satellite records began. This summer, the minimum was even lower—just 1.7 million…Continue readingAntarctica’s heart of ice has skipped a beat: Science briefing calls for action
The groundbreaking modeling study published by Australian and American researchers at the end of March for the first time includes a detailed assessment of the likely impact of melting…Continue readingNew Research Sparks Concerns That Ocean Circulation Will Collapse
The world’s glaciers melted at dramatic speed last year and saving them is effectively a lost cause, the United Nations reported Friday, as climate change indicators once again hit…Continue readingUN reports ‘off the charts’ melting of glaciers
As far as is known, five of the compounds detected have never before been reported in groundwater anywhere in the world.Continue readingNew types of chemicals found in Danish drinking water