New peer-reviewed research found an average of seven pesticides in each of 10 butterflies tested
A 2024 mass monarch butterfly die off in southern California was probably caused by pesticide exposure, new peer-reviewed research finds, adding difficult-to-obtain evidence to the theory that pesticides are partly behind dramatic declines in monarchs’ numbers in recent decades.
Researchers discovered hundreds of butterflies that had died or were dying in January 2024 near an overwintering site, where insects spend winter months. The butterflies were found twitching or dead in piles, which are common signs of neurotoxic pesticide poisoning, researchers wrote.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/01/2025 - 06:00
08/01/2025 - 04:32
The US president promotes classical architecture and loathes ‘ugly’ wind turbines. Keir Starmer would dismiss him as a nimby, but on this Trump has a point
Trigger warning. Some readers may find this disturbing. Not everything Donald Trump says is mad and a lie. Not all of it is about money. Some of it is even worth saying. When he came to office, one of Trump’s first actions was extraordinary. He directed his fire at what he saw as the ugliness of American architecture. He demanded that at least federal buildings should be “visually identifiable as civic buildings, and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States”. All plans had to be submitted to Washington for his approval.
There was more than an element of psychological obsession in such bureaucracy. American classicism – born of an admiration for France’s republicans – was a cult throughout the 19th century. The White House was based on a Dublin mansion. This week it was announced that it is to get what it has always lacked, a sumptuous new ballroom in which to receive and entertain foreign dignitaries. It is to be classical, with no nonsense about trying to make it look modern. That a president should seek to revive both regional and European style in the face of America’s relentless modernism is a breath of fresh air.
Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist
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08/01/2025 - 01:03
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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08/01/2025 - 00:00
Thistle-shaped Depastrum cyathiforme was last seen in France in 1976, but has now been found on South Uist
For nearly 50 years, there has been no trace of Depastrum cyathiforme, a stalked jellyfish that resembles a thistle flower.
The distinctive jellyfish was feared globally extinct after being last spotted in Roscoff, northern France, in 1976.
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08/01/2025 - 00:00
Government is counting on tech to provide a panacea, but there may be simpler ways to keep climate goals on track
Heathrow submits ‘shovel-ready’ plans for third runway
Why is Heathrow’s third runway back on the agenda?
Expanding Heathrow would result in increased carbon dioxide emissions and could put the UK further off track on its climate goals, but the government is claiming it can offset that by investing in research on new low-carbon fuels for aircraft and on electric planes.
However, any such technology is still decades away, if it ever reaches commercial scale, making it certain that any new runway in the near future would be used by the same kerosene-fuelled, high-carbon aircraft that we have today.
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07/31/2025 - 22:12
Weather bureau says bulk of the rain forecast to hit on weekend as a low-pressure system deepens off the coast
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New South Wales is heading for a sodden Saturday, with the wet and wintry weather that has been plaguing the east coast expected to ramp up over the weekend.
After a week of intermittent showers, the bulk of the rain was forecast to hit on the weekend as a low-pressure system deepened off the coast, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Sydney: Rain. Saturday max 18C. Sunday max 19C.
Melbourne: Mostly cloudy on Saturday, max 15C. Sunday, mostly sunny, max 18C.
Brisbane: Shower or two. Saturday max 19C. Sunday max 21C.
Adelaide: Partly cloudy on Saturday, max 14C. Sunday, max 17C.
Perth: Rain. Saturday, max 18C. Sunday, mostly sunny, max 29C.
Canberra: Shower or two on Saturday, top 13C. Sunday, cloudy, max 15C.
Hobart: Mostly sunny. Saturday 14C. Sunday max 15C.
Darwin: Sunny. Saturday and Sunday max 31C.
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07/31/2025 - 18:01
Government says expanding Europe’s largest airport could create 100,000 jobs and drive growth
Why is Heathrow’s third runway back on the agenda?
What will expanding Heathrow do to UK’s net zero plans?
Heathrow’s third runway ‘is going to be empty’ if it means high fees, says BA owner
Heathrow has submitted its “shovel-ready” plans for a third runway as part of a £50bn investment, as the government said expanding Europe’s largest airport could create 100,000 jobs and drive growth.
The 2-mile (3.2km) runway expansion would cross a diverted M25 and allow more than 750 additional flights a day over London, helping bring the total annual number of passengers to 150 million.
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07/31/2025 - 14:56
William Thomas of Kerr county tells hearing illness meant he did not take part in emergency planning meetings
A key emergency official was sick and asleep for most of the day before devastating flash flooding swept through Texas hill country and killed more than 130 people over the Fourth of July weekend.
Kerr county’s emergency management coordinator, William B Thomas, had not spoken publicly since the floods, one of the state’s worst ever natural disasters. Questions have swirled about his absence and the lack of sufficient warnings to residents about the impending storm before the Guadalupe river surged to record levels in the early hours of 4 July.
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07/31/2025 - 10:01
The groups have long been at odds over culling of badgers in England as a way to control TB in cattle
The first farmer-led programme to vaccinate badgers against tuberculosis is beginning in Cornwall with an aim to prevent transmission of the disease to cattle.
The programme is significant because farmers and scientists have long been at loggerheads over the culling of badgers as a way to control TB. The three-year trial will start with 70 farms and involve farmers trapping, testing and vaccinating badgers, with training provided by scientists. An earlier pilot study of the approach showed TB rates in badgers fell from 16% to zero in four years.
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