The Guardian

Volume of debris in the unexplored twilight zone is an ‘emerging threat’ to reefs already stressed by climate crisis, say scientists

No part of the planet is free of plastic waste, and coral reefs are no exception, but scientists have now made the discovery that the deeper the reef, the more plastic debris it is likely to have.

A study published in Nature found that not only is every coral reef encumbered with plastic, but almost three-quarters of the larger items were from “ghost gear” – fishing paraphernalia such as ropes, lines and nets. Food wrappers and plastic bottles were also common. The plastic constitutes an “emerging threat” to reefs already stressed by the climate crisis and overfishing, the researchers said.

A wildfire has consumed more than 4,000 hectares (9,984 acres) of a national park in eastern Bolivia over the weekend, Bolivian authorities said. Drone images showed plumes of smoke coming out of Otuquis national park in the Santa Cruz region, near the border with Brazil and Paraguay.

The fire entered a wet national park area on Tuesday, reducing its intensity but making it difficult for fire crews to fight the blaze

Country’s ministers echo European governments, scientists and environmental organisations in citing need for robust regulation of fledgling sector

Canada has joined a growing list of nations calling for a pause on deep-sea mining in international waters amid fears the nascent, untested industry could cause ecological devastation without further study and clear safeguards.

Three ministers, for the country’s foreign affairs, natural resources, and fisheries and oceans departments, issued a statement on Monday that “in the absence of both a comprehensive understanding of seabed mining’s environmental impacts and a robust regulatory regime”, they supported a moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining.

The joint chief executive of Thames Water has refused to apologise for allowing water companies to increase their debt during her time as chief of Ofwat, the water regulator. Cathryn Ross's comments came during a parliamentary committee session with Thames Water bosses as concerns mount over the financial viability of the company. Thames Water has secured £750m of emergency funding from its shareholders but the debt-ridden company warned it would need further funding in the years ahead

• Thames Water secures extra £750m from shareholders to help stave off nationalisation

Even train delays and waits for buses felt worth it for the space to think and environmental benefits. Our public transport is full of untapped potential

The water was clear enough to notice the sun’s rays touch the seabed. Seconds later, the scene was repeated in light piercing the canopy of a beech tree, spotlighting patches of dry earth below. I stared through the salt-smeared window of the train as it raced north on Devon’s famous Riviera line. In the carriage my skin felt weathered and dry. I hadn’t washed my hair for days. Anyone might think I had been to a festival; but having spent the best part of the week on a boat doing research for a project, I felt like the sea, and preferred it. One arm was stretched across my 65-litre rucksack as I faced the window, its bulky weight my temporary home, my office, my explanation.

When I challenged myself to travel by low-carbon routes during the writing of my book on species in Britain affected by climate change, I experienced the best and worst of our lethargic – yet still often charming – transit network. When public transport works, it really works. As a woman in my 20s, travelling long-distance, especially solo by train and bike, is empowering. Personal space, silence and time are street sweepers on the brain. A stillness descends in the wake of a slower pace, and you’ve forgotten how much you needed it. Yes, you tire, but it’s a tiredness that tells me I’ve gone and done something. I’m not in traffic. I don’t need help with my bag. No, I am not lonely. Nothing is wrong.

Sophie Pavelle is the author of Forget me Not: Finding the forgotten species of climate-change Britain

As climate pledges become reality, opposition to the green agenda is growing. And the populist right is latching on to it

When floods swept Europe in July 2021, killing more than 200 people in Germany, Belgium and neighbouring countries, it was a disaster that came as the climate crisis was moving to the top of Europe’s political agenda. All of a sudden, climate was no longer an abstract threat that could be batted into a distant future; it was already here, causing shocking weather events, destroying lives and leaving people homeless.

In northern Europe especially, spurred by the Fridays for Future school strikes, the climate crisis had already spilled into politics, pushing policy into action. But in 2021, measurable progress towards the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 began to be made. The EU didn’t just limit itself to ambitious targets, enshrined in laws and regulations. It also put its money where its mouth was.

Plutonium spike in Canadian lake sediments marks dawn of new epoch in which humanity dominates planet

The site to represent the start of the Anthropocene epoch on Earth has been selected by scientists. It will mark the end of 11,700 years of a stable global environment in which the whole of human civilisation developed and the start of a new age, dominated by human activities.

The site is a sinkhole lake in Canada. It hosts annual sediments showing clear spikes due to the colossal impact of humanity on the planet from 1950 onwards, from plutonium from hydrogen bomb tests to the particles from fossil fuel burning that have showered the globe.

Environment Victoria calls for Andrews government to end opposition to commonwealth water purchases in order to save river

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The recovery of 140 threatened species in Victoria depends on the restoration of environmental flows in the Murray-Darling basin, according to new research commissioned by Environment Victoria.

The report found the Australasian bittern, Australian painted snipe, Sloane’s froglet and Murray cod were among the species at very high risk of extinction and called on the Andrews government to end its opposition to commonwealth water purchases when ministerial talks about the Murray-Darling basin plan resume in coming months.

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Binybara, also known as Lee Point, is sacred. Traditional owners, bird watchers, ecologists, activists and lawyers were standing shoulder to shoulder as bulldozers neared

The Gouldian finch is a pint-sized bird with a rainbow presence – the life of the party when it’s able to live and fly freely. Like all else belonging to this continent and its adjacent islands, it has endured displacement and dispossession. It is now the unnecessary collateral damage of the extinction economy, as scientists continue to warn against sleepwalking across a threshold of no return.

Last week, in the middle of NAIDOC Week and during the hottest week ever recorded, bulldozers began ploughing through the sacred grounds of Binybara, colloquially known as Lee Point. With the Northern Territory’s rapidly expanding military presence, Binybara is being sacrificed for defence housing.

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Catastrophic floods around the world are triggering warnings of the climate crisis intensifying, with communities feeling the effects of July's extreme weather. Torrential rain has flooded homes and caused extensive damage in New York's Hudson valley while in China, thousands of people have been displaced. In Spain, people could be seen clinging to their cars and climbing nearby trees to escape the flood water and in India's northern state of Himachal Pradesh, where fatal landslides blocked about 700 roads, flash floods destroyed a bridge and filled streets with debris

Charity urges government to act amid fears mental health of young people ‘is at breaking point’

Play campaigners in the UK are calling for urgent action at the highest level of government to reduce the danger children face from traffic on residential roads.

Playing Out, a national charity set up to help parents close roads for play, has reported a rise in temporary road closures on residential streets as parents try to help children play outside safely.

Six people died and three others were missing after heavy rain triggered floods and landslides in south-west Japan.

The Japan meteorological agency warned residents of Kyushu – one of the country’s four main islands – to stay alert for more landslides, a common hazard in mountainous areas after heavy rainfall.

Japan has been hit by unusually heavy rain and powerful typhoons in recent years, raising fears about its vulnerability to the climate crisis

• ‘Heaviest rain ever’ causes deadly floods and landslides in Japan

Exclusive: Leaked documents show that as little as 1% of products containing hazardous substances could be prohibited

The European Commission is poised to break a promise to outlaw all but the most essential of Europe’s hazardous chemicals, leaked documents show.

The pledge to “ban the most harmful chemicals in consumer products, allowing their use only where essential” was a flagship component of the European green deal when it was launched in 2020.

Plans would only supply Britain with fossil fuels for an additional three weeks a year, analysis finds

New oil and gas fields in the North Sea would produce only enough gas to satisfy the UK’s needs for a few weeks a year, with a minimal impact on energy security, analysis has found.

Fields now under consideration would supply at most an additional three weeks of gas a year to the UK, from 2024 to 2050, even if none of the gas was exported.

The first rule of Climate Club? Don’t read the fine print

David Lammy says Labour government would join growing list of countries and multinationals opposing rush to mine the seabed

The Labour party has said the UK should back the call for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining, ahead of a crucial meeting of nations in Jamaica to decide the future of the industry.

David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, said the Labour party was adding its voice to a growing list of countries and businesses urging that moves to start mining be halted “until and unless” there was clear scientific evidence that it could be done safely and the marine environment would be protected by new regulations.

New guidance says carbon credits should only be used to contribute to climate mitigation

Companies should drop offsetting-based environmental claims and adopt a “climate contribution” model instead, according to a new quality standard.

In a new code of practice, the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) has published guidance on how companies should use carbon credits as part of high-quality corporate action. It recommends that firms should disclose their emissions every year, show they are successfully meeting a science-based target aligned with the Paris agreement, and only use carbon credits to contribute to climate mitigation, moving away from claims that they have “cancelled out” their emissions by purchasing offsets.

In Celtic mythology they’re known as “fairy cattle”

The word deer comes from dēor and der, which in old and middle English meant, simply, “animal”. The Dutch word “dier” still means this. The sense of a deer as an animal, as opposed to a human – it has been found to have referred to ants, fish and foxes – may come from “wilddēornes”, the origin of wilderness or wild-animal-ness.

Deer still seem to embody this mysterious animal-ness: four-legged wildness, dainty and strong, mysterious and controlled. You may say it is all in the antlers: I say it is all in the tail. I saw a small herd of fallow deer in London’s Clissold park recently. A doe walked up to the fence as I walked past, then turned away and flicked her white tail: a flash of white, like a shooting star you’re not sure you’ve seen, like the tap of a fluffy wand, like a cute cursor blinking.

Hottest summer on record – fuelled by climate crisis – brought unusually high mortality rates, statistics show

Searing heat killed more than 60,000 people in Europe last summer, scientists have found, in a disaster made deadlier by greenhouse gases baking the planet.

EU statisticians rang alarm bells in August, as sweltering heat, withering drought and raging fires consumed much of the continent, after seeing unusually high numbers of people die during Europe’s hottest summer on record.

Bird flu suspected as cause of death of vulnerable migratory birds at Long Nanny, the biggest UK breeding colony

National Trust rangers have described their “heartbreak and worry” after recovering more than 600 dead chicks at Britain’s largest mainland colony of Arctic terns.

The trust said on Monday that Long Nanny, on the coast of Northumberland, had been hit by a suspected outbreak of avian flu during the peak of the breeding season.