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Choice could prove difficult for Thames Water, which is trying to push through a water recycling scheme nearby
The first designated bathing water area on the River Thames in London has been shortlisted as one of 13 new monitored swimming areas across the country.
The Thames at Ham, in south-west London, was shortlisted as a new river bathing water after campaigners gathered evidence to show thousands of people use the river for swimming throughout the year.
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This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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Images confirm xAI is continuing to defy EPA regulations in Mississippi to power its flagship datacenters
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is continuing to fuel its datacenters with unpermitted gas turbines, an investigation by the Floodlight newsroom shows. Thermal footage captured by Floodlight via drone shows xAI is still burning gas at a facility in Southaven, Mississippi, despite a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruling reiterating that doing so requires a state permit in advance.
State regulators in Mississippi maintain that since the turbines are parked on tractor trailers, they don’t require permits. However, the EPA has long maintained that such pollution sources require permits under the Clean Air Act.
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Number of males at RSPB Abernethy rises to 30, after ‘huge amount of work’ by conservationists in Highlands forests
After decades of decline, there are signs of hope for the capercaillie, one of Britain’s most endangered birds.
Populations of the charismatic grouse, which in the UK is found only in the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands, have increased by 50%, from 20 males in 2020 to 30 in 2025 at RSPB Abernethy.
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Report by Tony Blair Institute urges government to drop some green policies amid criticism of decarbonisation goal
Tony Blair’s thinktank has accused Ed Miliband of driving up energy prices in his push to make Britain’s energy supply more environmentally friendly.
The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) published a report on Friday criticising the government’s green policies and urging the energy secretary to drop some of them altogether, including almost completely decarbonising the electricity system by 2030.
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Pressure, frictional heating and a disordered layer of molecules on top of the ice make skating possible
Ice skating is counterintuitive: why should a narrow blade make it easier to slide over the ice? The science is surprisingly complex, but unscientific people worked out the practical application a long time ago.
William FitzStephen described how Londoners entertained themselves in freezing conditions in 1173: “Crowds of young men go out to play on the ice. Some of them fit shinbones of cattle on their feet, tying them round their ankles … and are carried along as fast as a flying bird.”
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Doubling of fish biomass and rebounding of endangered species shows government measures starting to work, biologists say
The Yangtze River in China, which has been in ecological decline for 70 years, is showing signs of recovery thanks to a sweeping fishing ban.
The ban was made more effective by the implementation of “evolutionary game theory”, which included finding alternative employment for fishers.
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Bizarre idioms for downpours are just one facet of how the UK uses dark humour and ritual to brave the wet
May it fall as a blessing, not as a curse. So goes the ancient prayer inviting us to embrace days of rain.
It is a prayer that would not be welcomed by anyone on the floodplains the UK persists in filling with houses. It would be met with outright hostility by any farmers who are now unable to do any of the things they need to do in February because their land has had literally 40 days and nights of rain.
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A thatcher, gardener and others on keeping their business afloat in the bad weather – and their fears for the future
With76 flood warnings still in force across the UK and further downpours forecast this week and next, parts of the country have endured rain almost without pause since the start of the year.
The prolonged wet weather is disrupting livelihoods as well as daily life, particularly in rural areas, where flooded roads, waterlogged ground and repeated storms are making it harder to keep businesses afloat, protect crops and maintain steady work.
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The former Greens leader’s appointment as CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation raised eyebrows – but for him, the mission remains the same
Sometime in the months after his shock defeat at last May’s federal election, Adam Bandt made a decision: his time in party politics was over.
Friends and colleagues had suggested the former Greens leader consider running for parliament again in 2028 – either returning to the lower house seat of Melbourne, which he held for 15 years, or putting up his hand for the Senate.
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