The Guardian

Activists park at Preston New Road site near Blackpool hope to stop Cuadrilla operation

Activists have blockaded a fracking site in Lancashire on the day operations were due to begin for the first time for seven years in the UK.

Related: Cuadrilla is to start fracking in Lancashire. But we will not give in | Caroline Lucas

My colleague John Underhill-Day, who has died of heart failure aged 74, was an outstanding all-round naturalist who negotiated the purchase for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) of such flagship reserves as Minsmere in Suffolk and Leighton Moss in Lancashire.

During 17 years (1971-88) as deputy chief reserves officer and head land agent at RSPB head office, he was instrumental in the huge expansion of its reserves, persuading landowners to sell. He was an excellent negotiator, tough but fair. He pioneered a holistic approach to RSPB’s reserve management, for nature in general.

The drive for genetic selection means cattle are increasingly vulnerable to deadly new epidemics that could emerge as the climate warms

Known for their distinctive long horns, the Ankole cattle of western Uganda have evolved over millennia to withstand their harsh environment, with its lengthy dry spells and abundance of local maladies such as trypanosomiasis, a disease spread by the tsetse fly. But after flourishing for almost 10,000 years, the Ankole have begun to rapidly disappear.

Farmland is dwindling in Uganda due to the expanding human population, and Ankole require vast areas to graze. Local herders have responded to the pressure by replacing them, cross-breeding Ankole cattle with industrial species such as the European Holstein. But while these hybrids gain favourable genetic traits from the Holstein, producing more milk and meat, and requiring less land to keep, there is a hidden cost.

Linda Smith also suffered broken ribs and cuts after she stepped in to stop a 183cm kangaroo hurting her husband

A Queensland wildlife carer has severe injuries including a collapsed lung after she was attacked by a kangaroo. 

Experienced wildlife carer Linda Smith, 64, had a collapsed lung, broken ribs, cuts and other injuries after a 183cm kangaroo attacked after she stepped in to stop it hurting her husband near Millmerran on Saturday night.

It’s a very lucky person who swims with whales – but many take heart from knowing such ecosystems exist and believe they need to be protected

I pull the outboard out of gear and let the boat’s momentum wash away until we’re dead in the water. Then I switch everything off – engine, echo sounder, even the radio – and there’s silence. Not even the sound of water lapping against the hull. Because it’s breathless out here today. The surface of the gulf is silky. The sky is cloudless, a shade paler than the water. And behind us, onshore, the arid ridges and canyons of the Cape Range are mottled pink and blond in the morning light.

There’s only the two of us aboard, and although the air and water are still enough to be dreamlike we’re not at all relaxed. In fact, each of us is craning at opposite sides of the boat, heads cocked, tense with anticipation.

One of the world’s leading climate scientists has launched a scathing attack on the government’s fracking programme, accusing ministers of aping Donald Trump and ignoring scientific evidence.

James Hansen, who is known as the father of climate science, warned that future generations would judge the decision to back a UK fracking industry harshly.

Fall in pound and uncertainty has led to farmers paying more to attract or retain EU workers

Brexit is about to make Christmas turkeys more expensive. Prices are to jump as a result of the fall in the value of the pound and higher wages farmers now have to pay to their east European pluckers.

Paul Kelly, the chairman of the British Turkey Federation and boss of KellyBronze, a free range producer, said the industry was being forced to increase prices because of a 5% to 7% rise in costs.

GD Agarwal had been fasting since 22 June to protest against government inaction in cleaning the river

An Indian environmental activist has died on the 111th day of a hunger strike to pressure the government to clean the Ganges river.

GD Agarwal, a former professor of environmental engineering at one of India’s top universities, died on Thursday afternoon in hospital in the north Indian city of Rishikesh, where he had been admitted earlier that day.

Overfishing and climate change harm the marine environment at least as much as plastic pollution

Films such as A Plastic Ocean, and the huge success of Blue Planet II, have brought ocean plastic pollution firmly into the popular domain. Plastic has become ubiquitous through the world’s oceans, with fragments found in deep ocean trenches and the Arctic ice sheets. Furthermore, pictures of charismatic animals such as whales and turtles consuming or entangled in plastic provide powerful imagery of the problem to the public.

There is no doubt plastic is a big issue. A study in the journal Marine Policy suggests plastic pollution might be reaching a planetary boundary, a term used to describe safe operational environmental limits within which the world can continue to function safely.

Government ends incentives to buy new hybrids and cuts those for electric vehicles

Incentives for consumers to buy hybrid and electric cars rather than diesel or petrol alternatives have been slashed by the government, adding thousands of pounds to the price of a new low-emission vehicle.

Car manufacturers said the decision was an “astounding” move. It comes only three months after the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, published a Road to Zero strategy to curb vehicle emissions by promoting greener cars and three days after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called for an urgent switch to electric vehicles.

A rhinoceros hornbill and a white moray eel are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

High court rejects request to temporarily block Cuadrilla operation in Lancashire

The first fracking in the UK for seven years will start on Saturday, the shale gas company Cuadrilla has confirmed, after campaigners lost a last-minute legal challenge to block the operations.

Lancashire resident Robert Dennett won an interim injunction last Friday against Lancashire county council, putting a temporary halt to the start of fracking at a well outside Blackpool.

‘Inseparable’ Sphen and Magic show ‘great excitement caring for their egg’ and are natural parents, aquarium says

Two male penguins have “proposed” to each other in a Sydney aquarium, and are now the proud foster parents of an egg.

Sphen and Magic, two gentoo penguins, have built a bigger nest than any other couple, take turns incubating, and have been praised by staff as model parents.

Farmers are ‘up for radical thought’ following bad harvests due to extreme weather, NFU says

From low-emission cows to robotic soil management, the farming industry will have to explore new approaches in the wake of a UN warning that the world needs to cut meat consumption or face worsening climate chaos.

That was the message from Guy Smith, vice-president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), this week as policymakers began to discuss how Britain can address the challenges posed by the recent global warming report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Academic Penny Olsen suggests ecologist John Young staged discoveries related to endangered night parrot

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is investigating claims that photos it published which point to sightings of the endangered night parrot were staged.

Former AWC ecologist John Young is credited with taking the first photograph of what has been dubbed the “world’s most mysterious bird” in Queensland in 2013. Last year Young said he had found a feather from the night parrot on Kalamurina Station, around northern Lake Eyre in South Australia, describing the July discovery as significant “beyond what I could have imagined”.

Group, which received surprise $443m government grant, seeks more money by highlighting possibility for companies to enhance reputation

The Great Barrier Reef foundation has announced plans to raise up to $400m on top of its controversial $433m federal government grant, including from fossil fuel companies and other corporate donors who give money for “reputation scoring”.

The foundation has consistently made it clear it will not play a role in pushing for stronger emissions reductions targets, despite consistent and repeated scientific warnings that no reef program will be worthwhile without action on climate change.

Strict new standards in Canada aim to end winter smogs caused by wood burning that have plagued cities such as Montreal

This October the city of Montreal will draw a line under a 20-year air pollution problem that started with the 1998 ice storm. Considered one of the worst disasters in Canadian history, around 35 people died and nearly 1,000 were injured. At its peak, more than 3 million people were without electricity as pylons and power lines collapsed under the weight of encrusted ice. Some homes had no power for many weeks. People rushed to install wood burners to keep warm and to be prepared for a repeat of the crisis.

Exclusive: Kingvale station’s proposed clearing of 2,000 hectares could be held up for months

Federal approval to clear more than 2,000 hectares of Queensland native forest in the catchment for the Great Barrier Reef could potentially be held up for months after the Environmental Defender’s Office launched court action to prevent it.

The federal court proceedings against the state environment minister and the owners of Kingvale station come as the federal environment minister, Melissa Price, extended the time to make a decision on the controversial Kingvale proposal to 31 October.

If you believe the red-tops, these colourful creatures are heading for our bedrooms. But, can they be all bad? Here’s why we should try and live peacefully with them

‘Invasion of cannibal ladybirds carrying STIs wreaks havoc,” screams the Sun. Should we scoff at such sensationalism? Well, the red-tops are mostly correct. Except for the havoc bit.

There are plenty of ladybirds about this autumn and many are flying into our homes. Unlike our native letterbox-red ladybirds, these creatures are often orange or yellow and possessing many spots, or none.

Seven multinationals unite in drive to improve supply chain standards, though campaigners warn only firm commitments will make an impact

Pressure from consumers and investors has pushed seven of the largest names in the food industry to join forces in improving animal welfare standards, the first industry-led coalition of its kind.

The members of the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW) are Aramark, Compass Group, Elior Group, Ikea Food Services, Nestlé, Sodexo and Unilever, which jointly serve 3.7bn customers daily, and have combined revenues of $165bn (£124bn).