Labor describes claims as ‘fear-mongering’ and says government would not accept waste from other nations

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails , free app or daily news podcast

Australia could become a “poison portal” for international radioactive waste under the Aukus deal , a parliamentary inquiry into nuclear safety legislation has heard.

New laws to establish a safety framework for Australia’s planned nuclear-powered submarines could also allow the US and UK to send waste here, while both of those countries are struggling to deal with their own waste, as no long-term, high-level waste facilities have been created.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Hot and dry conditions could force measures despite country experiencing wettest 18 months since records began

• Why is the UK facing water shortages despite record rainfall?

The UK could face water shortages and hosepipe bans if this summer is hot and dry, despite having experienced the wettest 18 months since records began.

Leading scientists have said that because the UK is not storing its water properly, the country is vulnerable to the “all or nothing” rain patterns being experienced more frequently due to climate breakdown.

Continue reading...

Hail, hazardous wind gusts and possible tornadoes likely to be followed by rain, with snow forecast in New England and Canada

There will be a dramatic start to April in western parts of the United States, with an influx of warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico fuelling severe thunderstorms through the first part of this week.

On Monday, storms are forecast to stretch from Texas towards the Great Lakes, with Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois expected to be most severely affected. The system will then move eastwards on Tuesday, with Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio expected to receive the greatest impact.

Continue reading...

Possible charity highlights financial savings and environmental benefits for low-paid staff

Ministers should consider a social leasing scheme for care workers in rural areas across the UK to use electric cars, a climate charity has argued, saying this would save often low-paid staff large sums, also bringing a big environmental boost.

A focus group of carers in rural and semi-rural parts of the UK, carried out as part of the study, found that one woman earning less than £20,000 a year as a mobile carer drove four hours a day on average, spending £100-£150 a month on petrol.

Continue reading...

Warmer weather means the invasive plant, which can cost thousands to eradicate and even cause house sales to collapse, is appearing much earlier in the year

Homeowners are being urged to be extra vigilant of Japanese knotweed growing on their properties after the invasive species emerged six weeks earlier than usual this year following unusually warm weather.

The distinctive red stems were spotted throughout February and March, a development which has been linked to climate change.

Continue reading...

Start-ups turn to heat over batteries as they aim to industrialise the practice

Think of battery ingredients and lithium, cadmium and nickel come to mind. Now think again. What about salt, air, bricks, and hand-warmer gel? In our electricity-hungry future they’re set to provide heat to manufacturers who need it, and to help keep the lights on at times when energy is short.

Energy storage has a dual purpose: it plugs gaps when the wind drops or the sun stops shining, and it allows users to buy cheap off-peak power and use it when they need it.

Continue reading...

Residents of Balikpapan Bay in eastern Borneo dismiss claims that Nusantara will be a sustainable city that coexists with nature

In eastern Borneo, beyond the thick jungle forests, an epic building project is under way. Giant trucks, cement mixers and diggers lumber along battered roads. Cranes tower overhead. Yellow dust clouds the air, caking everything in reach: the leaves of eucalyptus trees, the sides of passing vehicles and the homes of nearby residents.

This site – a 2,560 sq km area encompassing industrial plantations, mines, Indigenous communities and agricultural land – is to form Nusantara, Indonesia’s new administrative capital.

Continue reading...

The Honduran Indigenous and environmental leader was shot in 2016 for her opposition to an internationally financed dam, but despite violence and threats, the net is closing on the murder’s alleged mastermind

• Photographs by Fritz Pinnow

Almost exactly 11 years ago Berta Cáceres led a group of local activists to block a road, halting trucks carrying building materials for the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam in Río Blanco. It marked the start of a fierce fightback by the Indigenous Lenca people against the energy company Desarrollos Energéticos (Desa) in Honduras.

More than a decade later, only rusty razor wire and rotting fences remain on the former construction site. A shipping container that served as Desa’s central office is now used by farmers to store corn. After international funding was pulled, the company was forced to halt operations indefinitely in 2018.

A shipping container that was once an office and rusting razor wire on the former dam construction site

Continue reading...

A Central Park birdwatching incident went viral after Christian Cooper filmed a white woman threatening him. Now he is using his platform to share his passion for nature

In May 2020, Christian Cooper was in an area called the Ramble in Central Park in New York. It’s a beautiful place, he says, and vital to the local bird population. So when he saw a dog off its leash, which is not permitted in the Ramble to protect the birds, he confronted the owner.

The woman, angry that Cooper was filming, said she would call the police and say ‘an African American’ man was threatening her if he did not stop. The video went viral and the ugly incident sparked fury, coming as it did on the same day as the death of George Floyd.

Continue reading...