Dr Tom May, a mycologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens and an expert witness at the Erin Patterson trial, has collaborated with renowned fungi photographer Stephen Axford for Planet Fungi, a new book from CSIRO Publishing full of incredible macro-photography
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
10/18/2025 - 07:00
If Douglas Troutman is confirmed, the top four toxics office at the environmental agency will be held by ex-lobbyists
The US Senate is poised to approve Donald Trump’s nomination of an industry lobbyist to lead the US Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical safety office.
If the nominee, Douglas Troutman, is confirmed, the top four toxics office positions at the EPA will be held by former chemical industry lobbyists, raising new fears about the health and safety of the American public, consumers and workers, campaigners say.
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10/18/2025 - 07:00
Stoats have been an existential threat to Orkney’s rare birds but technology is helping to eradicate them
At first, the stoat looks like a faint smudge in the distance. But, as it jumps closer, its sleek body is identified by a heat-detecting camera and, with it, an alert goes out to Orkney’s stoat hunters.
Aided by an artificial intelligence programme trained to detect a stoat’s sinuous shape and movement, trapping teams are dispatched with the explicit aim of finding and killing it. It is the most sophisticated technology deployed in one of the world’s largest mammal eradication projects, which has the aim of detecting the few stoats left on Orkney.
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10/18/2025 - 06:54
Margot Raggett, whose latest compilation shows animals scrubbed from natural habitats, calls for rethink on UK accelerated housebuilding
Margot Raggett has spent the past decade raising money for conservation efforts around the world but now she feels nervous about the future. “It does feel like we’ve taken a backward step,” she said.
The wildlife photographer has raised £1.2m for the cause in the past 10 years through her Remembering Wildlife series, an annual, not-for-profit picture book featuring images of animals from the world’s top nature photographers. The first edition was published in 2015, when the Paris climate agreement was being drafted but, in the years since, efforts to tackle the climate crisis have been rolled back.
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10/17/2025 - 13:00
Researchers say decline in phytoplankton suggests weakened planetary capacity to absorb carbon dioxide
The world’s oceans are losing their greenness owing to global heating, according to a study that suggests our planet’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide could be weakening.
The change in the palette of the seas is caused by a decline of phytoplankton, the tiny marine creatures that are responsible for nearly half of the biosphere’s productivity.
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10/17/2025 - 11:31
Long-planned charge on greenhouse gas emissions postponed as Trump officials accused of intimidation tactics
Under intense pressure from Donald Trump’s government, countries have postponed plans to force shipowners to start paying for the damage they do to the climate.
US officials were accused of “bullying” and “intimidation”, as nations met in London for what should have been the rubber-stamping of a decision made months ago to place a small levy on the greenhouse gases from global shipping.
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10/17/2025 - 10:03
Nearby residents say they have had health concerns due to air pollution from Drax Biomass facility
Residents of a small Mississippi town are suing Drax Biomass after the company won a permit to become a “major source” of hazardous air pollution at a local wood pellet production plant.
The subsidiary of the FTSE 250 energy company was previously denied permission to increase emissions in the 900-person town of Gloster, Mississippi, after local residents warned that they had already suffered serious adverse health consequences because of the operation.
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10/17/2025 - 09:00
Exclusive: Rainforest Reserves Australia has published submissions naming nonexistent government authorities and a nonexistent windfarm
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A conservation charity known for its anti-renewables stance has made submissions to federal and state inquiries that name non-existent government authorities and a nonexistent windfarm, and cite scientific articles that the supposed publisher says don’t exist, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.
Two US-based academics and experts said Rainforest Reserves Australia’s (RRA) claims in submissions about their work were “100% misleading” and “absurd”.
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10/17/2025 - 07:30
With AI datacenters soaring power bills for households, a policy called ‘demand flexibility’ could help ease grid strain
A cheap, bipartisan tool could help the US meet increasing energy demand from AI datacenters while also easing soaring power bills for households, preventing deadly blackouts and helping the climate.
The policy solution, called “demand flexibility”, can be quickly deployed across the US. Demand flexibility essentially means rewarding customers for using less power during times of high demand, reducing strain on the grid or in some cases, selling energy they have captured by solar panels on their homes.
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10/17/2025 - 07:00
Decision from governor, eyeing presidential bid, could echo across US as similar bans considered in states like New York
Are Pfas in everything? What you need to know about ‘forever chemicals’
A decision by Gavin Newsom, the California governor, to veto a bill that would have banned the sale of cookware and some other consumer products made with toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” may reverberate across the US by slowing or killing similar legislation in other states, public health advocates fear.
California is often looked to for guidance by other states considering new environmental rules, and some legislatures, including large states like New York and Illinois, are weighing bans on Pfas in cookware.
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