The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
11/01/2024 - 02:00
10/31/2024 - 21:53
LNP urged to release details of its alternative energy plans within first 100 days of government
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Conservation groups say the new Queensland government must quickly announce details of its alternative energy plans, after confirmation the new LNP administration will scrap the state’s attempts to build the “world’s largest” hydroelectricity project.
The premier, David Crisafulli, has confirmed the LNP would, as promised during the election campaign, end planning for a proposed 5GW Pioneer Burdekin pumped hydro scheme that would have constructed a massive energy storage dam in central Queensland.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...
10/31/2024 - 20:31
Wild squirrel that was taken in by Mark Longo seven years ago was confiscated after conservation officials received reports of ‘potentially unsafe housing of wildlife’
A New York man who turned a rescued squirrel into a social media star called Peanut is pleading with state authorities to return his beloved pet after they seized it during a raid that also yielded a raccoon named Fred.
Multiple anonymous complaints about Peanut – also spelled P’Nut or PNUT – brought at least six officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to Mark Longo’s home on Wednesday, Longo said.
Continue reading...
10/31/2024 - 19:24
Sydney’s jacaranda trees are in full bloom, blanketing the city in purple and attracting crowds of people trying to capture that perfect frame
Australia’s best photos of the month – October 2024
Five things to see at the 2025 Sydney festival
Continue reading...
10/31/2024 - 13:00
As wildfires become more frequent and intense due to the climate crisis, combining the First Nations practice with western techniques is ‘crucial’
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Indigenous cultural burning practices halved the shrub cover across south-east Australia thousands of years before colonisation, reducing the intensity of bushfires, new research suggests.
The study’s authors argue that “wide-scale re-integration” of cultural burning practices, in combination with western fire management techniques, is “crucial” at a time when wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense due to the climate crisis.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...
10/31/2024 - 13:00
Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat is a backer of the controversial Willow oil drilling project
The administration of Alaska’s Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, awarded at least $1m in state funds to a group claiming to represent a consensus of Indigenous support for new Arctic oil drilling, new research shows.
The group, called Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VAI), had just months earlier communicated with the governor’s office on ways to counter other Alaska Native groups opposed to new drilling.
Continue reading...
10/31/2024 - 11:41
Recent rules that require all new building and road projects in England to address and offset their impact on nature are excellent in principle but flawed in their implementation, leading environmental economists argue. In a new study experts criticize the implementation of the Biodiversity Net Gain policy which forces the majority of off-setting to occur within or near development sites rather than where it might most benefit biodiversity. Targeting offsets to locations best for biodiversity was found to double the conservation gains.
10/31/2024 - 10:23
Campaigners say car park extension at Manningtree station inhibits access to Dedham Vale and threatens habitats
A commuter car park in Essex is to be one of the first test cases of whether the government will enforce new legislation aimed at protecting national parks and landscapes in England.
Dedham Vale is a designated “national landscape” on the border of Essex and Suffolk, home to increasingly rare species including hazel dormice and hedgehogs. Within it is Manningtree station, where the train operator Greater Anglia built an extension to the car park to cope with increased traffic.
Continue reading...
10/31/2024 - 10:09
African giant pouched rats trained to alert their handlers when they find illegally trafficked wildlife products
Rats could be the latest weapon deployed in the fight against endangered wildlife trafficking, according to a study of rodents trained to sniff out pangolin scales, rhino horns, elephant tusks and hardwood.
Researchers trained eight African giant pouched rats to sniff out the contraband, even when it was hidden among items commonly used to hide trafficked goods, including peanuts, leaves, wigs and washing powder.
Continue reading...
10/31/2024 - 08:26
Steve Reed’s letter to campaign groups ahead of demonstration met with anger from those who say he has ignored the key issue of privatisation
The environment secretary has caused a backlash among groups demanding an end to the pollution of rivers by water companies after a direct appeal ahead of a demonstration backfired. The intervention by Steve Reed, who wrote to activists saying they could trust him with forging change within the water industry, was met with anger by campaigners who said he was avoiding the key issue – that water privatisation has failed.
In his letter to members from the 130 groups taking part in the March for Clean Water on Sunday, who include Surfers Against Sewage, the GMB union, the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB, Reed said he shared their anger about record levels of sewage pollution. He wished them a well-attended march and said he looked forward to working with them towards a shared ambition of cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Continue reading...
