Pesticide Action Network says some modern pesticides are 10,000 times more toxic than DDT, a notoriously noxious chemical that was banned for its impact on human health and the…Continue reading‘I have seen the decline’: pesticides linked to falling UK insect numbers
Category: The Anthropocene
Local sea level has risen about a foot in the last 80 years, with 8 inches of that total in the last 30 years, the Herald reported in May.…Continue readingRemember they said Miami would be under water? A preview of the future
Government scientists say rising seas driven by climate change are drowning Bangladesh’s densely populated coast at one of the fastest global rates, and at least a million people on…Continue readingSea swamps Bangladesh at one of world’s fastest rates
In recent years, concerns have been raised over earthworm populations, which have fallen by a third in the past 25 years. A citizen science project that monitors flying insects…Continue readingWildlife experts urge action on pesticides as UK insect populations plummet
May 2024 was the warmest May on the books, marking a full year of record-high monthly temperatures, NASA scientists found. Average global temperatures for the past 12 months hit…Continue readingNASA analysis confirms a year of monthly temperature records
At the Paris headquarters of the International Energy Agency (IEA), researchers tracking the progress of hydrogen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels have a list of more 100…Continue readingWhy hydrogen infrastructure ambition is a long way from reality
The world faces a “staggering” surplus of oil equating to millions of barrels a day by the end of the decade, as oil companies increase production the International Energy…Continue readingWorld faces ‘staggering’ oil glut by end of decade, energy watchdog warns
Exposure to extreme weather events can make people more aware of environmental changes; however, it remains unclear how such events influence politicians’ behaviour. Combining supervised learning algorithms on over…Continue readingExtreme weather events do not increase political parties’ environmental attention
An activist with an environmental group campaigning to block a $5bn internationally financed oil pipeline running through Uganda has been released from detention, his employer says. The Environmental Governance…Continue readingDetained Uganda anti-pipeline activist released
President Joe Biden’s signature climate law is nearly two years old, and the tug-of-war over its future is only getting more fierce. The Biden administration is facing election year…Continue readingGas, greens and brownouts: The energy war is boiling over
A Northern California city council voted early Wednesday morning to cancel the nation’s first outdoor experiment into the potential to limit global warming by altering cloud behavior. The five-member…Continue readingCalifornia city votes to block solar geoengineering experiment
The Victorian government has approved its first gas extraction project in a decade, near the celebrated tourist site the Twelve Apostles, despite its plans to wean the state’s households…Continue readingVictoria approves first gas project in 10 years near the famous Twelve Apostles
As the Biden administration seeks to promote cleaner energy to meet its goals for fighting climate change, it is eager to turn around a nuclear power industry hampered by…Continue readingAs nuclear power flails in the U.S., White House bets big on a revival
Some of the world’s most profitable – and most polluting corporations – have invested in carbon offset projects that have fundamental failings and are “probably junk”, suggesting industry claims…Continue readingCorporations invested in carbon offsets that were ‘likely junk’, analysis says
The staggering electricity demand needed to power next-generation technology is forcing the US to rely on yesterday’s fuel source: coal. Retirement dates for the country’s ageing coal fleet are…Continue readingUS slows plans to retire coal plants as power demand from AI surges
In announcing Australia’s support for fossil gas all the way to 2050 and beyond, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pushed his government’s commitment to net zero even further out…Continue readingSleight of hand: Australia’s Net Zero target is being lost in accounting tricks, offsets and more gas
An 80% reduction in sulfur dioxide shipping emissions observed in early 2020 could be associated with substantial atmospheric warming over some ocean regions, according to a modeling study published…Continue readingReduced sulfur content in shipping fuel associated with increased maritime atmospheric warming
Authorities in India are investigating whether a faulty sensor may have been behind a reading that showed temperatures in Delhi soaring past 50 degrees for the first time, amid…Continue readingDelhi heatwave: officials investigating if temperature of 52.9˚C due to faulty sensor
Toyota has unveiled plans for a new generation of internal combustion engines, betting on a continued need for older technologies even as car buyers shift towards Tesla and other…Continue readingToyota bets on new line of combustion engines in challenge to Tesla
In rich countries, almost 20 million new SUVs were sold in 2023, surpassing a market share of 50% for the first time. Globally, 48% of new cars were SUVs…Continue readingGlobal sales of polluting SUVs hit record high in 2023, data shows
Bangladeshi weather experts said Tuesday that a deadly cyclone that carved a swath of destruction was one of the quickest-forming and longest-lasting they’d experienced, blaming climate change for the…Continue readingDeadly Bangladesh cyclone one of longest seen
Waves wash over abandoned homes in a Mexican village slowly being swallowed by the sea—a symbol of the climate change effects being felt by the major fossil fuel producer.…Continue readingSubmerged homes, heat waves fuel Mexico climate angst
Deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado region, a vast tropical savanna renowned for its rich biodiversity, increased sharply in 2023 and overtook that of the Amazon, according to a report published…Continue readingDeforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado higher than in Amazon: Report
The seeds of New Zealand’s recent forestry boom were planted in 2019, when the country’s emissions trading scheme required companies to use only domestic measures to compensate for CO2.…Continue readingMillions more trees isn’t the climate fix New Zealand thought
A study conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil and reported in an article published in Nature Communications shows that the Cerrado, Brazil’s savanna…Continue readingDrought in the Brazil’s Cerrado is the worst for at least seven centuries, study shows
Microplastics have been found in human testicles, with researchers saying the discovery might be linked to declining sperm counts in men. The scientists tested 23 human testes, as well…Continue readingMicroplastics found in every human testicle in study
The study, published April 24 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, builds on existing data models estimating how much microplastic humans unwittingly eat and inhale as a result…Continue readingStudy maps human uptake of microplastics across 109 countries
The head of TotalEnergies has told shareholders that new oilfields have to be developed to meet global demand, as the annual meetings of the French energy giant and one…Continue readingNearly 175 arrested as climate protesters target France’s TotalEnergies and key investor
Five members of Letzte Generation, Germany’s equivalent to Just Stop Oil, have been charged with “forming a criminal organisation”. Mirjam Herrmann, 27, Henning Jeschke, 22, Edmund Schulz, 60, Lukas…Continue readingAlarm as German climate activists charged with ‘forming a criminal organisation’
Dozens of rivers and streams in Alaska are turning rusty orange, a likely consequence of thawing permafrost, a new study finds. The Arctic is the fastest-warming region in the…Continue readingWarming climate is turning rivers rusty with toxic metals
Mountain rivers in the US state of Colorado are going rusty and the warming climate is to blame, according to research. An increase in toxic heavy metals has also…Continue readingWarming climate is turning rivers rusty with toxic metals
The seemingly “never-ending” rain last autumn and winter in the UK and Ireland was made 10 times more likely and 20% wetter by human-caused global heating, a study has…Continue reading‘Never-ending’ UK rain made 10 times more likely by climate crisis, study says
Rangelands cover 80 million square kilometers—more than half the land surface of earth. Mostly natural grasslands used by livestock and wild animals to graze, they also include scrubland, mountain…Continue readingDemise of rangelands ‘severely underestimated’: Report
In the last 80 years, sea level rise has risen about a foot, with 8 inches of that total in the last 30 years, said Brian McNoldy, a senior…Continue readingSea levels are starting to rise faster: Here’s how much South Florida is expecting
Delhi city officials asked schools to shut with “immediate effect” due to the blistering heat, according to a government order quoted by the Hindustan Times Tuesday, cutting short the…Continue readingIndia shuts schools as temperatures soar
The air quality in San Pedro Sula, the second-largest city in Honduras, as been classified as the most polluted on the American continent due to forest fires and weather…Continue readingHonduran city’s air pollution is almost 50 times higher than WHO guidelines
More than a third of the Amazon rainforest is struggling to recover from drought, according to a new study that warns of a “critical slowing down” of this globally…Continue readingMore than third of Amazon rainforest struggling to recover from drought, study finds
It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are falling dead from the trees. At least 83 of the midsize primates, who are known for their roaring vocal calls,…Continue readingMonkeys ‘falling out of trees like apples’ in Mexico amid brutal heatwave
Migratory fish populations have crashed by more than 80% since 1970, new findings show. Populations are declining in all regions of the world, but it is happening fastest in…Continue readingMigratory freshwater fish populations ‘down by more than 80% since 1970’
A once-thriving population of little penguins on a tourist island off Perth’s coast has plummeted to no more than 120 birds, with plans to build a container port in…Continue readingLittle penguins at risk of vanishing from WA island as once-thriving colony reduced to 120 birds
Swallows, swifts and house martins were once a common sight over UK towns and cities, dextrously catching insects on the wing. But these spring and summer visitors are becoming…Continue readingSwallow, swift and house martin populations have nearly halved, finds UK bird survey
Researchers for the banking on climate chaos report, now in its 15th edition, analysed the world’s top 60 banks’ underwriting and lending to more than 4,200 fossil fuel firms…Continue readingBanks have given almost $7tn to fossil fuel firms since Paris deal
Today’s rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase is 10 times faster than at any other point in the past 50,000 years. Previous research showed that during the last ice…Continue readingChemical analysis of natural CO₂ rise over the last 50,000 years shows that today’s rate is 10 times faster
America’s oil and gas industry has flourished under Biden. At more than 13mn b/d, production is at record levels, exports of American hydrocarbons have surged and the scale of…Continue readingBig Oil boomed under Biden. So why does it hate him?
Two Just Stop Oil protesters have smashed the glass around Magna Carta at the British Library. The Rev Sue Parfitt, 82, and Judy Bruce, 85, a retired biology teacher,…Continue readingTwo Just Stop Oil protesters attack Magna Carta’s glass case
Hunger and disease are rising in Latin America after a year of record heat, floods and drought, a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has shown. The continent,…Continue readingDisease and hunger soar in Latin America after floods and drought, study finds
April was the Earth’s 11th consecutive month of record-breaking heat, with warmer weather already sweeping across Asia and a hotter-than-usual summer expected in Europe. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate…Continue readingWorld extends run of heat records for an 11th month in a row
“The goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C is hanging by a thread,” said the official spokesperson for António Guterres, the UN secretary general. “The battle to keep 1.5C…Continue reading‘The stakes could not be higher’: world is on edge of climate abyss, UN warns
A massive new review of ancient atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels and corresponding temperatures lays out a daunting picture of where the Earth’s climate may be headed. The study covers geologic…Continue readingA New 66 Million-Year History of Carbon Dioxide Offers Little Comfort for Today
The largest ever recorded leap in the amount of carbon dioxide laden in the world’s atmosphere has just occurred, according to researchers who monitor the relentless accumulation of the…Continue readingRecord-breaking increase in CO2 levels in world’s atmosphere
Hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5˚C (4.5˚F) above preindustrial levels this century. Almost 80% of the respondents, all from…Continue readingWorld’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5˚C target
The climate emergency is already here. Even just 1˚C of heating has supercharged the planet’s extreme weather, delivering searing heatwaves from the US to Europe to China that would…Continue reading‘Hopeless and broken’: why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair
The licensees of the Eldfisk Field, operated by ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS, announce successful first oil production on the Eldfisk North Project, located in the Greater Ekofisk Area in the…Continue readingConocoPhillips’ Eldfisk field achieves first oil production
A Shell-operated plant reported millions of carbon credits tied to CO₂ removal that never took place but were used by Canada’s largest oil sands companies, raising new doubts about…Continue readingShell plant reported millions of ‘phantom’ carbon credits
Mubadala Capital, a fully owned asset management arm of UAE’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment, is reportedly planning to invest approximately $13.5bn in a biofuels project in Brazil over…Continue readingUAE’s Mubadala Capital likely to invest $13.5bn in biofuels project in Brazil
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25436099/1194051845.jpg "Microsoft ramps up plans to capture carbon from burning wood")
Microsoft is doubling down on a controversial plan to capture carbon dioxide emissions from wood-burning power plants. It announced a contract with energy company Stockholm Exergi to capture 3.33…Continue readingMicrosoft ramps up plans to capture carbon from burning wood
An international agreement to end plastic pollution is due to be sealed this year in Busan, South Korea. At the penultimate round of negotiations, held in Ottawa, Canada, Rwanda…Continue readingA global plastic treaty will only work if it caps production, modeling shows
Nanoplastics are a type of microplastic, distinguished by their extremely small size. Microplastics are usually less than 5 millimeters across; nanoplastics are between 1 and 1,000 nanometers across. For…Continue readingWhat are nanoplastics? An engineer explains concerns about particles too small to see
This week, the fourth round of treaty talks by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution concluded in Ottawa, Canada. A major bone of contention between negotiators from 175…Continue readingInvisible plastic: Why banning plastic bags will never be enough
Firefighters and local residents battled a massive wildfire on the outskirts of Nepal’s capital Thursday as the Himalayan republic endures a severe fire season authorities have blamed on a…Continue readingNepal battles raging wildfires across the country
Pakistan has experienced its “wettest April since 1961”, receiving more than twice as much rain as usual for the month, the country’s weather agency has said. April rainfall was…Continue readingPakistan records ‘wettest April’ in more than 60 years
Overpowering floods and mudslides caused by torrential rains are continuing to sweep southern Brazil, killing at least 56 people and forcing tens of thousands out of their homes, the…Continue reading‘It’s going to be worse’: Brazil braces for more pain amid record flooding
California in North America has ended up being at the frontline of the climate crisis in recent years, lurching between extreme drought and excessive rain. To understand what might…Continue readingWhat’s driving California’s extreme weather?
A new study presents the first large-scale analysis of fire patterns in West and Central Africa’s wet, tropical forests. The number of active fires there typically doubled over 18…Continue readingWildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades, large-scale analysis finds
Extreme heat has gripped much of south and south-east Asia over recent weeks, killing dozens of people, forcing millions of students to miss school and destroying crops. In Thailand,…Continue reading‘Inside an oven’: sweltering heat ravages crops and takes lives in south-east Asia
For decades, concerns about automobile pollution have focused on what comes out of the tailpipe. Now, researchers and regulators say, we need to pay more attention to toxic emissions…Continue readingTire toxicity faces fresh scrutiny after salmon die-offs
The gentle roar of the ocean lulled Indian mother-of-two Banita Behra to sleep each night, until one day the encroaching tide reached her doorstep. Behra is among hundreds of…Continue readingThe Indian villagers who lost their homes to the sea
Noise pollution from traffic stunts growth in baby birds, even while inside the egg, research has found. Unhatched birds and hatchlings that are exposed to noise from city traffic…Continue readingNoise from traffic stunts growth of baby birds, study finds
A doctor who went to jail after a series of climate protests has been taken off the medical register for five months – and still faces being permanently struck…Continue readingRetired UK GP suspended for five months after climate protests
French oil and gas company TotalEnergies and Sultanate of Oman’s national oil company OQ have reached the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Marsa LNG project. TotalEnergies has signed…Continue readingTotalEnergies, OQ make FID on Marsa LNG project in Oman
Aker BP has started production from the Hanz oil and gas field located in licence 028 B in the Norwegian North Sea. Hanz, which has total reserves of around…Continue readingAker BP begins production from Hanz oil and gas field in North Sea
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been losing mass in recent decades, contributing to global sea level rise. If it were to melt entirely, global sea levels would rise…Continue readingFeedback loop that is melting ice shelves in West Antarctica revealed
Europeans are suffering with unprecedented heat during the day and are stressed by uncomfortable warmth at night. The death rate from hot weather has risen 30% in Europe in…Continue readingEurope baked in ‘extreme heat stress’ pushing temperatures to record highs
In past bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef, the southern region has sometimes been spared worst of the bleaching. Not this time. This year’s intense underwater heat has…Continue readingMore than coral: The unseen casualties of record-breaking heat on the Great Barrier Reef
From April 1 to April 5, temperatures in Mali exceeded 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) and peaked at a record 48.5˚C in the western city of Kayes. Ranked…Continue readingMalians struggle to cope after deadly heat wave
Trees more than a century old are barely alive. Some of these giant jarrahs might survive, but some won’t. It’s a scene that’s being replicated in forests and coastal…Continue readingWestern Australia’s eucalypt forests fade to brown as century-old giant jarrahs die in heat and drought
Climate campaigners have accused Scottish ministers of being “inept” and “short-termist” after they scrapped Scotland’s target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030. Màiri McAllan, the Scottish net…Continue reading‘Reprehensible retreat’: fury as Scottish ministers scrap carbon emissions pledge
The UK faces food shortages and price rises as extreme weather linked to climate breakdown causes low yields on farms locally and abroad. Record rainfall has meant farmers in…Continue readingUK facing food shortages and price rises after extreme weather
The deadly protracted heatwave that filled hospitals and mortuaries in the Sahel region of Africa earlier this month would have been impossible without human-caused climate disruption, a new analysis…Continue readingLethal heatwave in Sahel worsened by fossil fuel burning
By the middle of the century, global emissions from plastic production could triple, an analysis has found. The stunning new estimates from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, published on Wednesday,…Continue readingPlastic-production emissions could triple
BP has started production of oil from the new $6bn Azeri Central East (ACE) platform on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field in the Azerbaijan part of the Caspian Sea. Azeri…Continue readingBP starts oil production from $6bn ACE project in Caspian Sea
At least 65 people have died in storm-related incidents including lightning in Pakistan, officials said, with rain so far in April falling at nearly twice the historical average rate.…Continue readingLightning, downpours kill 65 in Pakistan, as April rain doubles historical average
Huge tailbacks snaked along six-lane expressways after up to 254 millimeters of rain—about two years’ worth—fell on the desert United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. The storms hit the UAE…Continue readingDubai reels from floods chaos after record rains
Black & Veatch and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) are set to start construction on the Cedar LNG project, a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project in Kitimat, British Columbia,…Continue readingBlack & Veatch, SHI to move ahead with construction of Cedar LNG project
The Whiptail project, which will use a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, will entail an investment of around $12.7bn. It would include up to ten drill centres…Continue readingExxonMobil decides to proceed with Whiptail development offshore Guyana
Global heating has pushed the world’s coral reefs to a fourth planet-wide mass bleaching event that is on track to be the most extensive on record, US government scientists…Continue readingGlobal heating pushes coral reefs towards worst planet-wide mass bleaching on record
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which stretches for some 2,300km (1,429 miles) off the country’s northeastern coast, is suffering its worst bleaching event on record. The extent of the bleaching…Continue readingAustralia’s Great Barrier Reef suffers worst bleaching on record
Peregrine falcon populations across North America are heavily contaminated with harmful flame retardants–including those that have been phased out for years—according to a new study published in Environmental Science…Continue readingPeregrine falcons expose lasting harms of flame retardant use
A report by Global Energy Monitor found that coal power capacity grew by 2% last year, driven by an increase in new coal plants across China and a slowdown…Continue readingWorld’s coal power capacity rises despite climate warnings