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Open letter calls for green policies that empower farmers, after months of protests jeopardise future of flagship biodiversity deal
The EU’s nature restoration law will only work if it is enacted in partnership with farmers, a group of leading scientists has said, after months of protests have pushed the proposals to the brink of collapse.
In an open letter, leading biodiversity researchers from across the world said that efforts to restore nature are vital for guaranteeing food supplies – but farmers must be empowered to help make agriculture more environmentally friendly if the measures are to succeed.
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Soiled seas and huge shareholder dividends: where has the £64bn borrowed by firms since privatisation gone?
So that’s how they do it. I’d been wondering how, when more sewage has been entering our rivers than ever before, some of the water companies have managed to improve the ratio of the sewage they treat v the sewage that pours untreated from their storm overflows into our rivers and the sea. Now we know.
It’s called “flow trimming”. Sounds innocuous, doesn’t it? What it means is that sewage is diverted into rivers and ditches upstream of the water treatment works. By reducing the amount of sewage entering the works, the companies can claim to be dealing responsibly with a higher proportion of it.
George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist. Join him for a Guardian Live online event on Wednesday 8 May at 8pm BST. He will be talking about his new book, The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism. Book tickets here
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
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Researchers also find zebra finches 20% less likely to hatch from eggs if exposed to noise pollution
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 experience long-term negative effects on their health, growth and reproduction, the study found.
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Sewage pollutes our waterways, species face extinction. We must act fast to halt the decline – and we will
- Steve Reed is shadow environment secretary
We must not be the last generation to have the opportunity to marvel at nature.
When I was growing up, I took for granted the excitement of climbing trees in the local woods at the end of our road, sleeping under the stars at Scout camp, and exploring the micro-worlds of seaside rockpools on holiday in Cornwall. Our children and grandchildren deserve to be astounded by the magnificence of our landscapes and coastlines, mesmerised by the beauty of a robin’s song, and to splash about in the local river.
Steve Reed is the MP for Croydon North, and shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs
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Hayling Island, Hampshire: After a year of trying to catch sight of the local population, one of them came to me, thanks to the recent stormy weather
Though common starfish (Asterias rubens) are easy to find in rockpools, they’re an unfamiliar sight on the pebbly shores of Hayling Island. So my curiosity was piqued last May when swimmers started mentioning that they’d spotted them clinging to the chains that anchor the swim zone marker buoys.
Of course, when I swam out and gazed into the depths, there was no sign of the promised galaxy of echinoderms. I put it down to an unfavourable tide state, but the starfish remained elusive throughout the summer and autumn. Even when conditions were seemingly perfect, the chains and seabed were always bare.
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Fossil fuel and petrochemical campaigners at Ottawa summit outnumber scientists, EU and Indigenous delegates
The number of fossil fuel and petrochemical industry lobbyists has increased by more than a third at UN talks to agree the first global treaty to cut plastic pollution, analysis shows.
Most plastic is made from fossil fuels via a chemical process known as cracking, and 196 lobbyists from both industries are at the UN talks in Ottawa, Canada, where countries are attempting to come to an agreement to curb plastic production as part of a treaty to cut global plastic waste, according to analysis by the Center for International Environmental Law (Ciel).
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The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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Video series launched in which comics translate climate science into down-to-earth language
Scientists can struggle to get their message across about the climate crisis to the wider public, so now comedians have been brought in to help cut through the science jargon and get widespread attention. In a series of videos, titled Climate Science Translated, scientists are paired up with various comedians who express climate science in down-to-earth language that pulls no punches.
In one of the videos, Prof Mark Maslin, of University College London, explains: “The climate crisis is progressing faster much faster than anticipated.” This is translated by the comedian Jo Brand as: “We’re still going to hell, but we’re getting there faster.”
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Years after the emergency, the Michigan city is yet to replace all lead pipes and affected families are still awaiting justice
Earlier this month, Brittany Thomas received a call that her 11-year-old daughter Janiyah had experienced a seizure at school.
“She’d been seizure-free for about two years now,” said Thomas, a resident of Flint, Michigan. “And they just came back.”
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Researchers in the Netherlands find climate change is increasing vulnerability of some species
Climate change is causing apparently healthy trees to die after periods of heat and drought. Many may not die immediately but repeated periods of hot weather seem to increase the vulnerability of some species more than others.
Researchers studied 20 species of conifers planted 100 years ago in the same place in the Netherlands, taking tree ring samples to see how they did in droughts between 1970 and 2013. From the distance between the rings it is possible to tell how much each species’ growth was affected.
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