Sheldon Whitehouse adds auto giant to investigation after US president claimed CEO requests changes to regulations
As the Trump administration prepares to overturn the rule underpinning virtually all US climate regulations, a Senate committee is investigating whether or not the US’s second-largest automaker lobbied for the rollback.
In September, the Senate environment and public works committee launched investigations into two dozen oil companies, thinktanks, law firms and trade associations, focused on how the companies may have persuaded the White House to initiate the repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding. Now, the committee, chaired by Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse, is expanding the investigation to include Ford Motor Company.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
01/22/2026 - 12:00
01/22/2026 - 08:56
Pollution from wood burners kills thousands but proposed emissions limit would cut toxic particles by 10%
New wood-burning stoves will carry a health warning highlighting the impact of the air pollution they produce, under UK government plans.
Ministers have also proposed cutting the limit on the smoke emitted from wood burners by 80%. However, the measure would only apply to new stoves, most of which already meet the stricter limit. The new limit would cut the annual toxic emissions from wood burning in the UK by only 10% over the next decade, according to the consultation.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 08:08
Cash, gold, mercury and firearms seized in operations in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname
Police and prosecutors from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname have arrested nearly 200 people in their first joint cross-border operation targeting illegal gold mining in the Amazon region, authorities said.
The operation was backed by Interpol, the EU and Dutch police specialising in environmental crime. It involved more than 24,500 checks on vehicles and people across remote border areas and led to the seizure of cash, unprocessed gold, mercury, firearms, drugs and mining equipment, Interpol said.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 08:03
Road safety activists ‘vindicated’ after success of campaign supported by NHS trusts and headteachers
UK politics live – latest updates
The mayor of Tower Hamlets acted unlawfully in attempting to remove three low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) schemes, the court of appeal has ruled.
Road safety activists say they feel vindicated after campaigning for more than three years to keep the traffic restrictions in place in the east London neighbourhoods of Bethnal Green, Shoreditch and Columbia Road.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 08:01
Extreme heat ‘is getting worse and whether we like it or not … there’s ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with,’ scientist says
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Human-caused global heating made the intense heatwave that affected much of Australia in early January five times more likely, new analysis suggests.
The heatwave earlier this month was the most severe since the 2019-20 black summer, with temperatures over 40C in Melbourne and Sydney, even hotter conditions in regional Victoria and New South Wales, and extreme heat also affecting Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 06:00
The removal of sulphur from shipping fuels caused ‘a lot of extra sunlight’ to get through atmosphere and hit reef in 2022
Steps to clean up the shipping industry by removing sulphur from fuels intensified a major coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef by allowing more of the sun’s energy to hit the oceanic wonder, according to a new study.
Sulphur pollution can cause respiratory problems for humans and cause acid rain, but it also has a shading effect and can make clouds brighter, providing more shade to areas underneath.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 05:00
Described by one researcher as looking ‘already dead’, the enigmatic creatures are one of the least understood species on the planet
It looks more like a worn sock than a fearsome predator. It moves slower than an escalator. By most accounts, it is a clumsy and near-sightless relic drifting in the twilight waters of the Arctic, lazily searching for food scraps.
The Greenland shark, an animal one researcher (lovingly) said, “looks like it’s already dead”, is also one of the least understood, biologically enigmatic species on the planet.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 01:00
Exclusive: Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro among worst affected, with demand close to exceeding supply
Half the world’s 100 largest cities are experiencing high levels of water stress, with 38 of these sitting in regions of “extremely high water stress”, new analysis and mapping has shown.
Water stress means that water withdrawals for public water supply and industry are close to exceeding available supplies, often caused by poor management of water resources exacerbated by climate breakdown.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 01:00
Manual for building design aims to encourage low-carbon construction as alternative to steel and concrete
An airport made of bamboo? A tower reaching 20 metres high? For many years, bamboo has been mostly known as the favourite food of giant pandas, but a group of engineers say it’s time we took it seriously as a building material, too.
This week the Institution of Structural Engineers called for architects to be “bamboo-ready” as they published a manual for designing permanent buildings made of the material, in an effort to encourage low-carbon construction and position bamboo as a proper alternative to steel and concrete.
Continue reading...
01/22/2026 - 01:00
It’s not just Tunbridge Wells – a country famous around the world for its rain is in danger of self-imposed drought
You get up and go to the loo, only to find the flush doesn’t work. You try the shower, except nothing comes out. You want a glass of water, but on turning the tap there is not a drop. Your day stumbles on, stripped of its essentials: no washing hands, no cleaning up the baby, neither tea nor coffee, no easy way to do the dishes or the laundry. Dirt accumulates; tempers fray.
The water company texts: we are so sorry; colleagues are working to restore connection; everything should soon be normal. You want to believe them, but the more it’s repeated, the more it becomes a kind of hold music. There’s no supply the next day, and the day after, and the day after that. Each morning brings with it the same chest-tightening question: what will happen today? Buckets and bottles don’t stop you feeling grubby and smelly, or from noticing the taint on your family and friends and neighbours. You’re not quite the people you thought you were and nothing feels normal.
Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...
