The Guardian Environment

Kashmiri saffron is one of the world’s most expensive spices. It’s primarily cultivated in the Pampore region of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Often referred to as ‘red gold’ because of its high value, saffron is prized for its rich aroma, distinctive flavour and quality Continue reading...

The handover marks the end of a 13-year licence for Smart DCC, a subsidiary of Capita, after years of spiralling costs and delaysControl over Great Britain’s 39m smart meters has passed to a non-profit startup after its former owner presided over more than a decade of spiralling costs and delays in the troubled network.The company owned by crisis-hit outsourcing firm Capita has promised a “seamless transition” to its not-for-profit successor, which will take over running the data network connect

Patroclo and Achille’s interspecies affair sheds new light on social and sexual relations between animals, scientists sayIn ancient myth, Achilles and Patroclus were two Greek heroes of the Trojan war whose intense bond was believed by some to have turned into a sexual relationship.In modern science, they are a bull, Achille, and a donkey, Patroclo, whose tender interspecies affair has helped to shed new light on social and sexual interactions between animals. Continue reading...

Devon nature reserve says ‘reckless’ theft of narrow-headed ant colony sets back years of conservation workA nest containing up to 5,000 of England’s rarest ant species has been stolen from a nature reserve, a conservation charity has said.Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) said a nest of narrow-headed ants had been dug up and taken from Chudleigh Knighton Heath nature reserve in south Devon, which is the last place in England where the species still exists. Continue reading...

Action taken to prevent bottom trawling in the marine protected area and conserve porpoise populationsGreenpeace activists have dropped boulders in the North Sea to snag the dragnets of industrial trawlers fishing in a marine protected area.Activists onboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise dropped the giant stones to form an underwater barrier around the Southern North Sea marine protected area (MPA) – the UK’s most bottom-trawled MPA. Continue reading...

At more than $52m, the race has become the most expensive in US history, but residents are fed up with floodingAida Havel mulled her fate over coffee after working the early voting polls all day in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. “We are trapped,” she concluded.The Dare county commission candidate lives about 50 miles (80km) south, on Hatteras Island on the state’s Outer Banks. Continue reading...

A Guardian investigation has found that despite a recommendation to slow down, leading shipping companies continue to travel above advised speeds in a key habitat for cetaceansMarine biologist Alice Barbarioli waits with her camera trained on the horizon. A few minutes earlier, the hydrophone beneath the Pelagos research vessel detected codas – the sequence of clicks sperm whales use to communicate.The sperm whale reveals its head and dorsal fin as those onboard the vessel in the Pelagos sanctua

UN-backed report finds even temporary rises above Paris agreement target could cause harm to glaciers and polar ice sheetsEarth’s icy regions face such dangerous melting that global heating should be brought back below 1C after an inevitable period of overshooting global temperature targets, a UN report has found.Permanent and widespread losses of snow and ice expose a “persistent myth” that overshooting the 1.5C target of the Paris climate agreement – to 2C or 3C – could be manageable or even p

Officials in Boulder County, Colorado, say they have a safe plan to wipe out invasive weeds, but some locals are concernedSoon, weed-killing chemicals will start falling from the sky over the Red Hill area of Boulder county, Colorado.The wildland is known for its biodiversity, home to hundreds of important species and a concentration of rare environmental resources. It is a key habitat for beloved herds of elk and bighorn sheep, with farms and ranchland lying at its base. Continue reading...

Environmental Defense Fund analysis shows administration handed out $950m and Clean Air Act exemptionsIt’s a good time to be a coal plant in the US. The Trump administration has given support to almost half of the nation’s coal plants, helping them to continue operating despite economic and regulatory headwinds, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund.The analysis, which looked at the 184 operating coal plants that are connected to the grid, found that 90 received support f

UK chancellor’s plans add to concerns government is moving away from pro-renewables agendaJohn Healey has said he will veto new offshore wind projects if they will not lower bills, adding to concerns that the government is moving away from the pro-renewables agenda.Announcing his plans, the chancellor said clean power is “how we break the grip of international gas prices on our bills”, but added the shift towards it “has to come at the right pace, in the right places, with the grid to carry it”.

A cartoon that celebrates small acts of graceSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

There is no end in sight for the drivers of illegal mining, while police action appears ineffectiveCora Bailey has been encountering illegal miners ever since she first started treating injured animals in the townships around Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, in 1991. But as the price of gold has soared, so too has activity in the abandoned mine shafts that mark the area.In late September, dozens of zama zamas – the name given to illegal miners in South Africa, meaning roughly “to take a chance”

The invasive species has increased in spread and numbers and is costing farmers millions of dollarsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn unpublished government report on feral deer shows Australia is failing in its efforts to stop the spread of what one advocate warns could become “Australia’s next feral pig”.The five years from 2020-2025 over which the national feral deer action plan was assessed covers a period in which the famously elusive species has increasingly encr

As many as 8 million people have been affected by food shortages, electricity blackouts and health clinic closuresExtreme drought driven by an historic El Niño is affecting as many as 8 million people in Papua New Guinea, causing a cascade of issues from shortages of food and water, to electricity scarcity and schooling disruption.An influential coalition that includes churches, trade unions and business groups has said the Pacific nation is in the midst of a “national crisis”, but there appears

Oxford study shows Manx shearwaters lose direction when their body clocks get out of syncSeabirds returning from foraging trips can be thrown hundreds of miles off course by a form of jet lag that arises when their body clocks get out of sync with local time, researchers say.Tracking data from Manx shearwaters on the west coast of the UK revealed that when the birds returned home to their colonies after trips over the Atlantic, their rapid eastward flights disrupted their sense of time and navig

Replacing diesel-powered ferries with electric vessels could reduce emissions and improve air quality Cutting through New York Harbor in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, the small white boat we were riding on caught the attention of passengers aboard a nearby sightseeing ferry.“It’s quite a curiosity at the moment,” Eric Laakmann, the chief executive and co-founder of Vessev, said.Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and communicators who research and report the facts about

NSW government imposes water restrictions after Menindee water volumes fall below 2021 levelsSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereWater levels at Menindee Lakes in western New South Wales have fallen to their lowest point in five years, prompting the state government to impose upstream water use restrictions as experts warn of potential mass fish deaths over summer.Combined volume at Menindee Lakes fell below 480 gigalitres earlier this month, th

Critics warn of climate danger as president in Texas claims change will save companies and consumers billionsDonald Trump announced his administration is “terminating” Biden-era regulations holding oil and gas companies accountable for large leaks of planet-warming methane during a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday evening.Trump said during a campaign rally in Texas that the change would save consumers and energy producers $45bn and unlock 210 million barrels of oil – equivalent to about 10 da

Legislation requiring mugs to be offered when people drink at cafes to be scrapped, with environment minister stating ‘we need to clear this up’Follow our Australian politics live blog for latest updatesGet our daily political email, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales government has backflipped on its plan to force cafes to offer customers who dine in the option of mugs and glasses instead of takeaway cups.Chris Minns’ government will also ditch a law that would have required busi