Exclusive: Government and water firms preparing for possible shortages as dry weather is expected to continue
England is heading towards a drought this summer unless there is significant rainfall soon, as reservoir water levels dwindle.
The government will on Wednesday convene the National Drought Group of water companies, farming groups and other experts to prepare for what is expected to be a dry summer with potential water shortages.
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05/06/2025 - 10:48
Producers promoted chemical recycling – processes used to break plastics into constituent molecules – but knew of limitations
Plastic producers have pushed “advanced recycling” as a salve to the plastic waste crisis despite knowing for years that it is not a technically or economically feasible solution, a new report argues.
Advanced recycling, also known as chemical recycling, refers to a variety of processes used to break plastics into their constituent molecules. The industry has increasingly promoted these technologies, as public concern about the environmental and health effects of plastic pollution has grown. Yet the rollout of these technologies has been plagued by problems, according to a new analysis from the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), a fossil-fuel accountability advocacy group.
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05/06/2025 - 10:42
Incident in 2021, during which the defendant said he was attacked by a brown bear, sparked fierce criticism
An 81-year-old French hunter has avoided jail after killing an endangered female bear that attacked him in the Pyrenees in 2021, in an incident that sparked fierce criticism from environmental associations.
The defendant, who said he had no choice but to open fire when a brown bear attacked him while he was boar-hunting in the mountain range separating France and Spain, was given a four-month suspended jail sentence.
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05/06/2025 - 09:00
Advocacy groups say gutting EPA’s scientific research arm would turn it into a purely political agency
Americans’ health is being put at risk after new cuts were announced by Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce staffing to 1980s levels and gut its scientific research arm, experts and advocacy groups warned.
The EPA’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, announced on Friday that the agency would slash its budget by $300m in the fiscal year 2026 as part of a broad overhaul that he said was designed to cut it to levels resembling those in the Reagan administration.
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05/06/2025 - 00:24
Horsham local Glenn Coffey says he witnessed large numbers of sick birds falling out of trees and drowning in Wimmera river
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Victoria’s conservation regulator has launched an investigation into the suspected fatal poisoning of 300 little corellas in Horsham, in the state’s north-west.
The incident, which began on Tuesday last week, has killed hundreds of protected birds in a popular park near the Wimmera river, just south of the city centre.
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05/06/2025 - 00:00
Researchers call for urgent action as fragments of plastic found in human brains and pollute food, water and air
The UK is falling behind on international efforts to tackle microplastics, scientists have said, as the pollutants continue to infiltrate food, ecosystems and human bodies.
The tiny fragments of plastic have been found in human testicles and brains, and they burrow into plants, inhibiting their ability to photosynthesise. The impact on human health is largely unknown, but they have been linked to strokes and heart attacks.
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05/06/2025 - 00:00
Professionals call for a fundamental transition including controlling flight numbers
The aviation industry is “failing dramatically” in its efforts to tackle its role in the climate crisis, according to a newly formed group of aviation professionals.
They say they are torn between their passion for flying and their concern for the planet and are calling for a fundamental transition of the industry, including controlling flight numbers.
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05/05/2025 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 06 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00121-w
Offshore hydrogen production leaves a local hydrographic footprint on stratification in the North Sea
05/05/2025 - 18:15
Government response comes amid outrage over the murder of the men who had been held captive for more than a week
Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte, has suspended gold mining and announced a 12-hour curfew in Pataz, in the northern region, after criminals kidnapped and killed 13 gold mine workers.
A Peruvian gold mining company La Poderosa said on Sunday that the bodies of 13 contract workers from a local firm had been found by police inside one of the mine’s tunnels.
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05/05/2025 - 12:25
Governor is expected to sign the ‘green fee’, which adds 0.75% levy to state’s existing tax on short-term lodging
Lawmakers in Hawaii have passed first-of-its-kind legislation that will increase the state’s lodging tax to raise money for environmental protection and strengthening defenses against natural disasters fueled by the climate crisis.
Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, supports the creation of the so-called “green fee”, and is expected to sign it.
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