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Slow progress on 2015 Paris agreement comes as scientists warn of need to get on track
Negotiators at the climate conference in Poland have inched closer to an outcome, as the official deadline for finishing a deal ran out.
The conference was meant to approve a rulebook which would govern how nations put into action the goals set in the landmark Paris agreement of 2015, when the world resolved to hold global warming to no more than 2C above pre-industrial levels, with an aspiration to limit temperature rises to no more than 1.5C.
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Small bits of plastic packaging from waste food make their way into animal feed as part of the UK’s permitted recycling process
Plastic traces in animal feed could pose a risk to human health and urgently need to be the subject of more research, experts have told the Guardian.
Their comments came after British farmer Andrew Rock contacted the Guardian, having noticed plastic shreds in his animal feed. Rock was told by the suppliers that this was a legal part of the recycling process that turns waste food, still packaged, into animal feed.
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Report finds more than 95% chance of hydrological changes to Belyando River Basin from mines including Carmichael
Coalmines planned in the Galilee Basin – including Adani’s Carmichael mine – understated the likely impacts on surrounding water resources, a federal government scientific report has found.
The bioregional assessment report into the cumulative impact of coalmine proposals was published quietly last week. It was compiled by experts from the CSIRO, Geosciences Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology and the federal environment department.
The report modelled information from seven of 17 proposed coalmines in the Galilee and found there was a greater than 95% chance that they would cause hydrological changes to the Belyando River Basin.
Nascent industry aims to reduce environmental impact of beef production
The first steak grown from cells in the lab and not requiring the slaughter of a cow has been produced in Israel.
The meat is not the finished article: the prototype costs $50 for a small strip, and the taste needs perfecting, according to its makers. But it is the first meat grown outside an animal that has a muscle-like texture similar to conventional meat.
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Australia’s Mary River turtle went viral after it was named on an endangered species list – and Cate Blanchett even voiced a puppet of it. But was that enough to save it?
It was “the punk turtle” – an eccentric and yet strangely human-looking reptile with a vivid green mohican, fleshy “fingers” under its chin and the ability to breathe through its genitals. The Mary River turtle went viral in April when pictures of the hitherto little-known creature were shared around the world after it was placed 30th on the Zoological Society of London’s Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered list for reptiles. The rating, which guides conservation prioritiesfor at-risk species, was compiled by Rikki Gumbs. He says that turtle fascination “went absolutely crazy” after its publication, as he fielded calls from journalists around the world. Reptiles are often overlooked but the connection many felt for the animal does not surprise Gumbs. “It’s the least these amazing reptiles deserve,” he says. “Once people can see how incredible and unique they are, it’s not surprising they are drawn to them.”
The turtle became endangered because it was widely collected for the pet trade in the 1960s and 70s. Such collecting is outlawed now but the turtle faces a new threat. It is only found on a relatively small part of the Mary River, in Queensland, Australia, and is imperilled by the loss and degradation of its habitat. Non-native plants prevent it laying eggs in sandy river banks; non-native foxes and dogs predate it.
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Tony Rinaudo’s regeneration technique, developed in west Africa 30 years ago, has helped bring back forest over 6m hectares
Through the cacophony of the UN’s global climate talks, an Australian farmer is quietly spreading his plan to reforest the world.
Over more than 30 years in west Africa, Tony Rinaudo has regenerated more than 6m hectares – an area nearly as large as Tasmania. His farmer-managed natural regeneration technique is responsible for 240m trees regrowing across that parched continent.
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Chile and Costa Rica thought to be considering alternative bids after Brazil withdrew offer
Britain is bidding to host the UN climate change conference in 2020, the biggest since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015, as part of the government’s aim to be seen as a green leader.
The conference will mark a vital deadline for countries to comply with their commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and move on to tougher targets for the decade to 2030, and so it is likely to be a fractious affair.
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Exclusive: A secretive organisation based in a German village has amassed one of the world’s largest collections of rare parrots. How did Martin Guth, a former nightclub manager, persuade governments to authorise the export of so many endangered species?
• Australia gave endangered birds to secretive German ‘zoo’, ignoring warnings
It’s an unlikely spot for a zoo – down an unmade, dusty road, amid a wood to the east of the German capital Berlin.
But here in the village of Tasdorf, hundreds of the world’s most endangered and rare parrot species are said to be housed at the headquarters of the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP).
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The continent’s largest land mammal plays crucial role in spiritual lives of the tribes
On 5,000 hectares of unploughed prairie in north-eastern Montana, hundreds of wild bison roam once again. But this herd is not in a national park or a protected sanctuary – they are on tribal lands. Belonging to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck Reservation, the 340 bison is the largest conservation herd in the ongoing bison restoration efforts by North America’s Indigenous people.
The bison – or as Native Americans call them, buffalo – are not just “sustenance,” according to Leroy Little Bear, a professor at the University of Lethbridge and a leader in the bison restoration efforts with the Blood Tribe. The continent’s largest land mammal plays a major role in the spiritual and cultural lives of numerous Native American tribes, an “integrated relationship,” he said.
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Prospects for species look dire as federal science body finds that only one of the country’s 16 populations is believed to be stable
Half of Canada’s chinook salmon are endangered, with nearly all other populations in precarious decline, according to a new report, confirming fears that prospects for the species remain dire.
The reportby the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada concluded that eight of the country’s 16 populations are considered endangered, four are threatened, one is of special concern and the health of two remain unknown.
Continue reading...It took five weeks of round-the-clock treatment to keep Benedicte alive after her mother died.
The challenge from a coalition of 20 US states is now likely to go to the US Supreme Court.
The families of three people with learning difficulties tell the BBC all their teeth were taken out.
There was no major incident, just confusion, and the scale of the problem was overstated, a report finds.
Check the environmental impact of what you eat and drink.
Roland Crooke took a loan to pay for private treatment after being told to lose weight for hip surgery
Winter pressures are beginning to bite as hospitals report too many patients are on wards and ambulances face delays at A&E.
Parents are advised to massage their child's gums or use a teething ring before trying the gels.
Only one in 10 meals was classed as healthy which is a cause for concern, say researchers.
It is hoped the measure can boost the low proportion of donors from black and Asian backgrounds.
Endurance athlete Ben Lecomte attempted to swim across the Pacific Ocean to bring attention to the state of our oceans.
Australian shark populations along the Queensland coast have dropped by significant percentages due to overfishing.
Japan's space agency makes history by landing two robotic rovers on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu.
The Parker Solar Probe is exploring the sun's scorching outer atmosphere.
The sky's color is based on the scattering of light particles. A number of factors influence this scattering and that means the sky can sometimes be purple.
A new study reveals female frogs that live in the country are more attracted to chatty city slickers.
Judie Johnson gets the experience of a lifetime as she's joined by three killer whales during her swim off the coast of New Zealand.
From when it happens to why – and everything in between – here's your crash course on the shortest day of the year.
These snakes, frogs and lizards all know how to take on the big world, despite their small sizes.
The vanishing veneer of frozen ocean isn't just vital for polar bears.
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