It’s good to know that state attorneys general are reading the HOTLINE. We reported last week about the discriminatory European Union’s climate change “sustainability directive” designed to impose “severe burdens” on American companies. The dead end of green energy and climate craziness in Europe has caused energy prices to rise two to three times faster in Germany and other Euro-zone nations than in America (see chart): Instead of getting back to affordable energy sources like coal, natural gas and nuclear power that actually work, they want to impose their anti-growth requirements on us. The Securities and Exchange Commission has come out against the EU rules, and now a coalition of Republican State AGs have joined the chorus of opposition. Their letter to President Trump, first reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation, warns: The corporate sustainability directive’s disclosure requirements are extensive and burdensome, diverting American companies’ time and energy away from investment, wage growth, and other valuable activities—all in the name of the radical green agenda. Its purpose is to disincentivize fossil fuels, investment, and economic growth, and to put bureaucrats in Brussels in charge of policies directing American operations. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves

Million-year-old skull rewrites human evolution, scientists claim 12 hours ago Share Save Pallab Ghosh Science Correspondent Share Save BBC News Replica: the skull is a million years old but has some modern features A million-year-old human skull found in China suggests that our species, Homo sapiens, began to emerge at least half a million years earlier than we thought, researchers are claiming in a new study. It also shows that we co-existed with other sister species, including Neanderthals, for much longer than we've come to believe, they say. The scientists claim their analysis "totally changes" our understanding of human evolution and, if correct, it would certainly rewrite a key early chapter in our history. But other experts in a field where disagreement over our emergence on the planet is rife, say that the new study's conclusions are plausible but far from certain. The discovery, published in the leading scientific journal Science, shocked the research team, which included scientists from a university in China and the UK's Natural History Museum. "From the very beginning, when we got the result, we thought it was unbelievable. How could that be so deep into the past?" said Prof Xijun Ni of Fudan University, who co-led the analysis. "But we tested it again and again to test all the models, use all the methods, and we are now confident about the result, and we're actually very excited. " Fudan University The skulls were discovered by a Chinese team in Hubei Province in central China who compared them with other human species When scientists found the skull, named Yunxian 2, they assumed it belonged to an earlier ancestor of ours, Homo erectus, the first large-brained humans. That's because it dated back about a million years, long before more advanced humans were thought to have emerged. Homo erectus eventually evolved and began to diverge 600,000 years ago into Neanderthals and our species – Homo sapiens. But the new analysis of Yunxian 2, which has been reviewed by experts independent of the research team, suggests that it is not Homo erectus. It is now thought to be an early version of Homo longi, a sister species at similar levels of development to Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. Genetic evidence suggests it existed alongside them, so if Yunxian 2 walked the Earth a million years ago, say the scientists, early versions of Neanderthal and our own species probably did too. This startling analysis has dramatically shifted the timeline of the evolution of large-brained humans back by at least half a million years, according to Prof Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, a co-lead on the research. He said there are likely to be million year-old fossils of Homo sapiens somewhere on our planet - we just haven't found them yet. Watch Science Correspondent Pallab Ghosh explain how the human family tree may have been redrawn There are two ways to pinpoint the species of an early human and work out when it walked the Earth - analysing the shape of the skull and its genetic data. In the case of Yunxian 2 both methods were used, and each came to the same conclusion. But other researchers, such as Dr Aylwyn Scally, an evolutionary geneticist at Cambridge University, say there are considerable uncertainties in both methods. "One has to be particularly tentative about the timing estimates, because those are very difficult to do, regardless of what evidence you're looking at, be that genetic or fossil evidence," he said. "Even with the largest amount of genetic data, it is very difficult to place a time when these populations may have co-existed to within 100,000 years, or even more. " He added that while Profs Ni and Stringer's conclusions were plausible, they were far from certain, and that more evidence was needed to be sure. "That picture is still quite unclear to us, so if the conclusions of this research are supported by other analyses, ideally from some genetic data, then I think we would start to be increasingly confident about it," he told BBC News. The earliest known evidence for early Homo sapiens in Africa is 300,000 years ago, so it is tempting to conclude that our species might have evolved first in Asia. But there is not enough evidence to be sure at this stage, according to Prof Stringer, because there are human fossils in Africa and Europe that are also a million years old that need to be incorporated into the analysis. "There is some genetic evidence that points to the even earlier emergence of our species which may have recombined with our lineage, but this is not yet proven," he told BBC News. The earlier timeline means that the three species of humans co-existed on the planet for around 800,000 years, much longer than previously thought, perhaps interacting and interbreeding in that time. Fudan University The white skulls are the original, distorted fossils and the grey ones are replicas that have been computer corrected

Ratmageddon: Why rats are overrunning our cities 6 hours ago Share Save Justin Rowlatt Climate Editor Share Save BBC One morning last year, John Gladwin opened the cupboard under his kitchen sink and discovered a bag of soil he'd been storing there was torn to shreds. Days later he noticed a pungent smell too. It was musty and slightly astringent, not unlike the communal bin area in his block of flats. "I knew what it was straight away," he says. " He'd often seen them scurrying around near bins. Now they were inside his home too. "I heard them in the cupboards and behind the bath panel. One morning when I woke up they were fighting under the bath, screaming and squealing. " Gladwin, who lives in Croydon with his five children, acted immediately. He put down peppermint oil and rat poison and so far they haven't returned. But the experience shook him. "I was worried for the children's health, I didn't want them catching anything," he tells me. But there was another feeling too: shame. "It's not nice to say we're infested, that our family is living in a rat-infested property. " Rodents on the estate in Croydon where John Gladwin lives - a brazen one jumped in a bin bag and pulled out a hunk of food Cleankill, the pest control company tasked with tackling the infestation on Gladwin's estate, works across the south of England. Its founder, Clive Bury says he has seen a "remarkable" increase in call outs for rat activity, estimating a 20% increase in the last two years. Similar patterns are being reported across the country. Trade body the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) says more than half of the pest control companies who are members have seen an increased number of rat callouts over the last five years. Because rats live in drains, sewers and burrows, and emerge mostly at night, counting them is nearly impossible, so estimates on rat population figures vary. In the UK it could be anywhere from 10 million to 120 million. What is known is that more than half a million rat infestations were reported to UK councils, between 2023 and the middle of this year, according to Freedom of Information requests gathered by drainage repair company, Drain Detectives. The number of rats at this block of flats in Croydon is on the rise But it's not just affecting the UK. Rat numbers are reported to have spiked in several US cities too, including Washington DC, San Francisco and New York City, as well as in Amsterdam and Toronto. Though they're not inherently dirty animals, rats scavenge in sewers and bins and can pass on serious diseases to humans. Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) is transmitted through their urine, and hantavirus can be spread by breathing in infected droppings. They can also eat their way through farm produce and contaminate food supplies. So, given rats have shown themselves to be wily in avoiding being caught - what would it really take to stop them? Or are we too far gone to prevent rats from overrunning our cities? Rising temperatures, rising rat activity Bobby Corrigan calls himself an urban rodentologist. He started out as an exterminator in New York City and has spent his life immersed in rats. "I ended up in sewers, trying to hang poison baits to kill rats. " Years later, while studying rats in college, he went to extreme lengths to understand their behaviours - once he slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe it first hand. What astonished him was their complex social structure, and evidence of what he believed to be signs of altruism. "I saw young rats carrying food and giving it to older rats that couldn't get around," he remembers. He was also determined to understand the reasons for the rise. There are many possible reasons for this. Niall Gallagher, technical manager at the BPCA, says our growing appetite for fast food, the fact some councils collect rubbish less frequently, as well as road and building works disturbing the sewer network, all contribute. But there is evidence that rising temperatures might also be at play. Bobby Corrigan Dr Bobby Corrigan once slept on the floor of a rat-infested barn to observe their behaviour patterns firsthand Scientific evidence has found that rat populations are sensitive to temperature but Dr Corrigan, who previously worked at the New York City Department of Health as a research scientist, together with researchers from the University of Richmond, Virginia, set out to find out whether the rise in rat activity correlated to temperature increases. Their study examined 16 cities, mostly in North America, and the results, published in the journal Science Advances earlier this year, found that 11 of them recorded significant increases in rat activity over a period of between seven and 17 years. In Washington DC the increase was almost 400%, in San Francisco it was 300%, Toronto 180% and New York 160%. Only three cities saw declines, including Tokyo and New Orleans. "Cities experiencing greater temperature increases over time saw larger increases in rats," the study found. Those increases approached 2C in some places during the study period. Dr Corrigan believes that - as long as temperatures continue to rise, and in particular winters become warmer - the increase in rat numbers is likely to continue. And global temperatures are indeed set to rise between 1. 7C above the pre-industrial average by 2100, according to Climate Action Tracker, a group of independent climate researchers. Rats do not hibernate, so when exposed to the cold, it can kill them outright or result in them producing fewer pups, as baby rats are known – which in turn slows population growth. Phenomenal breeders - until it's cold Rats are phenomenal breeders. A female typically has around six litters a year, each with up to 12 pups. Those rats can start breeding after nine weeks, meaning two rats can potentially create more than 1,000 offspring in a single year. Universal Images Group via Getty Images Two rats can potentially create more than 1,000 offspring in a single year Researchers say numbers are particularly prone to increase in cities. That's because their heat-trapping tarmac and buildings tend to warm more quickly than rural areas. And the trend of people moving from rural areas to cities is playing a part too, according to Dr Corrigan. "Land is disappearing like crazy, and we're putting up buildings so we reduce their [rats] habitat in the wild," he says. Extra buildings means more nooks, pipes and drains for rats to live in. Which all adds to the challenge of how to best control growing populations. Rats' surprising superpower One of the curious facts about rats - and one begins to explain why poison baits often don't work - is that they cannot vomit. In theory this means that once rat poison is ingested, they can't get rid of it. But rats are also "neophobic" or fearful of new things, according to Professor Steven Belmain, a professor of ecology at the University of Greenwich. He believes the two points are related. It is something of a "superpower", he says, as when they come across a potential food they don't just dive in. "They will only try a little bit. So once they understand that they don't feel ill, they'll realise, 'okay, I can eat that'. "You could argue that this cautious approach to life has stood them well. " Getty Images 'Rat's cautious approach to life has stood them well,' says one expert Dr Alan Buckle of the University of Reading has spent 30 years working to develop new rat poisons but - he tells me with a laugh - "I failed". If a poison tastes bad or causes any discomfort or pain to a rat, they will not eat more. Which is why slower-acting substances, mainly anticoagulants - drugs that stop blood forming into clots - are used. These take up to a week to act, giving enough time for rats to eat a lethal dose. But they are recognised as a cruel way to die, killing the rats by causing internal bleeding. What's more, in recent years rats have developed genetic mutations that give them some immunity to these powerful drugs too. Some researchers are looking at the possibility of using oral contraceptives as an alternative, more humane way to prevent rat numbers growing further. On patrol with the Rat Tsar Few know this challenge better than Kathleen Corradi, a former schoolteacher who was appointed the city's Rat Tsar by the New York Mayor in 2023. An estimated three million rats live in the five boroughs and Corradi was reportedly awarded $3. 6m) to increase public awareness about rat mitigation. She started what she calls a "rat academy" that teaches people how to stop their neighbourhood from being overrun by rats. New York City Hall Kathleen Corradi was appointed New York's "Rat Tsar" to tackle the city's rat problem "They take a rat walk with me, where we go out into neighbourhoods, and we talk about human behaviour and we talk about rat behaviour," she told the BBC earlier this month. "We talk about how it all comes together and what they could be doing in their neighbourhoods. " Her team also urged New York residents to phone in if they see rats or evidence of behaviours likely to encourage rats. Inspectors investigate the reports and order action, with stiff fines if it isn't taken. And there was another crucial change – instead of putting their rubbish out on the street in plastic bags, now most New Yorkers are obliged to put their waste in rat-proof bins. Getty Images In New York, residents must now use rat-proof bins to keep out rodents - like these Corradi is now leaving the role, but she says the approach is showing some progress. Ultimately, she explained, "cutting off rats' food source is the key to a sustained reduction". Overflowing bins and fast food Back in Croydon, Alex Donnovan, a pest controller for Cleankill, leads me into the backyard of the estate where John Gladwin lives. It is just after dawn, and he gestures for me to stay still and keep quiet. Moments later, there is a rustling and a rat darts from beneath the concrete walkway towards the communal bins. Next, the head of a large rat emerges from a burrow at the end of the garden. During the two hours we spent on the estate, some rats climbed high into a tree, while a particularly brazen one jumped into a bin and pulled a hunk of food from a plastic bag while I watched on, less than a metre away. Mr Donnovan believes it is almost impossible to get control of an infestation of this scale. "There's just so much food. " He gestures to bins overflowing with rubbish bags. "Even if we put down rodenticide, they won't eat it. They are just not interested… Once these bins are infested with rats, the bin men don't want to collect it either. " John Gladwin, who lives on the estate, says finding rats in his flat made him concerned for his children's health - it also made him feel ashamed Warmer temperatures may well help fuel growing rat populations but our overflowing bins, fondness for fast food and fractured communities all add to the challenge of keeping it under control. In the UK there are more people than ever are living in closer proximity. The Office for National Statistics projects the population will increase from 67. 6 million in 2022 to 72. 5 million by 2032, with the proportion living in urban areas growing too. So, instead of hoping poison will do the trick, the solution could come down to something far more straightforward. AFP via Getty Images Rats are thriving in cities, fuelled by overflowing bins, fast food and dense urban living "If we take care of our city environment, then we won't have to worry about being so inhumane to them," argues Dr Corrigan. "By not giving [rats access to] the food and scraps, then we don't have to poison them and kill them and torture them and all the crazy things we do to them. " The challenge now is how to do that, and at speed. After all, as he puts it, we have already "underestimated them". "We ignored rats and let them get out of hand… and now we are paying the price. " Additional reporting: Florence Freeman

Meet the history-making astronauts headed for the Moon 14 hours ago Share Save Pallab Ghosh Science Correspondent Share Save Commander Reid Wiseman: "We're going to the Moon. it's going to be amazing!" The commander of Nasa's next mission to the Moon said that he and his crew would "see things that no human has ever seen". Reid Wiseman told a news conference that it was likely that his spacecraft would fly over large areas of the Moon that previous Apollo missions had never mapped. Yesterday, Nasa announced it hoped it would be able to launch the first crewed Moon mission in 50 years as early as February 2026. Mission specialist Christina Koch explained that the astronauts would be able to study the lunar surface in exquisite detail for a full three hours. "Believe it or not, human eyes are one of the best scientific instruments that we have," she said. "Our geologists are beyond excited for our eyes to look at the Moon, and we've been training how to turn those observations into answering some of the biggest questions of our time, questions like 'Are we alone?' We can answer that by going to Mars in the future, and this mission can be the first step in bringing that answer back to team humanity. " The Artemis II mission is the second launch of the Artemis programme, whose aim is to land astronauts and eventually establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface. Commander Reid told reporters the name the crew had given to their spacecraft and why they chose it. "Peace and hope for all humankind, that is what we really want. We are bringing together the world, and when you squeeze it all down, it will create magic. So we're going to fly around the Moon in the spacecraft 'Integrity'. All four astronauts said they took inspiration from the Apollo Moon missions of the 1960s and early 1970s. Read more about the four astronauts below. BBC/Nasa Christina Koch decided to become an astronaut after seeing a picture of the Earth taken by Bill Anders, a crew member of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. For her, the Artemis II flight is literally a dream come true because it, just like Apollo 8, will fly around the Moon to help pave the way for a Moon landing. Although Christina was born 11 years after the photograph was taken, she kept a poster of the Earth rising above the lunar surface. Just as that moment inspired a generation living through the 1960s, she said in a Nasa interview that she hoped her mission would enable a new generation to live though what they lived through and, as it did at the time, make the world a more optimistic place. NASA Koch (right) set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman during her time on the International Space Station in 2019 "The fact that it was a human behind that lens made that picture so much more profound and changed the way we thought of our own home," she said. "The Moon was not just a symbol for thinking about our place in the universe, it is a beacon for science and understanding where we came from. " Christina was an engineer who became an astronaut in 2013. She lived and worked on the International Space Station for almost all of 2019, spending a total of 328 consecutive days in space and famously participated in the first all-female spacewalk. Her hobbies include surfing, rock and ice climbing, programming, community service, triathlons, yoga, backpacking, woodworking, photography and travel. Christina is set to be the first woman to go to the Moon. BBC/Nasa This will be the first time Jeremy Hansen will have been in space. He too was inspired by the astronauts on Apollo 8. At the time the world was riven with wars and conflict. "When they flew around the Moon just before Christmas in 1968 there was a lot going on the world, and people realised it was a really tough time. People were struggling in many different ways and and I think we can all resonate with that today. "And I remember reading about a postcard that Bill Anders got when he got back, and it just simply, all that was written on it was, 'you saved 1968'. " With his Buzz Lightyear-like square jaw and clean-cut appearance, he comes across as the archetypical heroic astronaut. As a Canadian, he is set to become the first non-American to go to the Moon. William Anders/Nasa Earthrise: described as the photo that changed the world, taken by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders. His message is one of unity and inspiration not just for the US, but the entire world. "The Artemis missions have set such an ambitious goal for humanity that is inspiring contributions from around the World, not just one nation is inspired and moved by this, but nations around the globe are coming together". Jeremy was a fighter pilot, physicist and aquanaut before he joined the Canadian Space Agency in 2009. During his time with the CSA, he became the first Canadian to lead astronaut training at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre. He is married with three children and enjoys sailing, rock climbing, and mountain biking. BBC/Nasa Those who have met Victor say he is the most charismatic of the quartet and the most sharply dressed, with designer brown leather boots making him look good even in an orange flight suit. "Pushing ourselves to explore is core to who we are," he says in a Nasa interview. It is part of being human. " Like is fellow crew, his words hark back to a bygone space age, and the words of then President John F. Kennedy in 1962: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win. " Victor goes on to say: "It is in our nature. We go out to explore, to learn where we are, why we are, understanding the big questions about our place in the universe. " Getty Images Glover with his wife Dionna Glover in New York in 2023 Victor's call sign is IKE, which is reputedly short for "I Know Everything", acknowledging his three master's degrees: in flight test engineering, systems engineering and military operational art and science. Victor was selected as a Nasa astronaut in 2013. He has previously served as the pilot of Nasa's SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station as part of Expedition 64. He was born in Pomona, California, and is married with four children. Victor is set to be the first black person to go to the Moon. BBC/Nasa Reid Wiseman also brings back echoes of the 1960 Apollo Moonshots when he says that he hopes the Artemis II mission will be looked back on as a "tiny step in having humans on Mars and a sustained presence on the Moon". His words echo those of another space commander, Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". NASA Wiseman spent six months as Expedition 40 flight engineer aboard the International Space Station in 2014

China makes landmark pledge to cut its climate emissions 11 hours ago Share Save Mark Poynting and Matt McGrath BBC News Climate and Science Share Save European Photopress Agency China, the world's biggest source of planet-warming gases, has for the first time committed to an absolute target to cut its emissions. In a video statement to the UN in New York, President Xi Jinping said that China would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions across the economy by 7-10% by 2035, while "striving to do better". The announcement comes at a time the US is rolling back on its commitments, with President Donald Trump on Tuesday calling climate change a "con job". But some critics said China's plan did not go as far as hoped to keep global climate goals in reach. "Even for those with tempered expectations, what's presented today still falls short," said Yao Zhe, global policy adviser at Greenpeace East Asia. While the year's big gathering of global leaders will be at COP30 in Brazil in November, this week's UN meeting in New York has extra relevance because countries are running out of time to submit their new climate plans. These pledges - submitted every five years - are a key part of the Paris climate agreement, the landmark deal in which nearly 200 countries agreed steps to try to limit global warming. The original deadline for these new commitments - covering emissions cuts by 2035 - was back in February, but countries are now scrambling to present them by the end of September. Speaking before the meeting UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the pledges were critical to keep the long-term rise in global temperatures under 1. 5C, as agreed in Paris. "We absolutely need countries to come [. ] with climate action plans that are fully aligned with 1. 5 degrees, that cover the whole of their economies and the whole of their greenhouse gas emissions," he said. "It is essential that we have a drastic reduction of emissions in the next few years if you want to keep the 1. 5 degrees Celsius limit alive," he added. As the world's biggest emitter, China's plans are key to keeping this goal in sight. Back in 2021, President Xi announced that China would aim to peak its emissions this decade and reach "carbon neutrality" by 2060. Today's pledge marks the first time that China has set actual emissions reductions targets on that path. "These targets represent China's best efforts based on the requirements of the Paris agreement," President Xi said. It also covers all greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide, and will be measured "from peak levels" of emissions - the timing of which President Xi did not specify. He added China would: expand wind and solar power capacity to more than six times 2020 levels increase forest stocks to more than 24bn cubic metres make "new energy vehicles" the mainstream in new vehicle sales Off track for 1. 5C Such is the scale of China's emissions that any reduction would be significant in climate terms. China was responsible for more than a quarter of planet-warming emissions in 2023, at almost 14bn tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent. A 10% reduction in China's emissions would equate to 1. 4bn tonnes a year, which is nearly four times the UK's total annual emissions. But China's new target does fall short of what would be needed to meet international climate goals. "Anything less than 30% is definitely not aligned with 1. 5 degrees," said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Most scenarios to limit warming to 1. 5C - or even well below 2C - would require China to make much greater cuts than that by 2035, he added. In many cases, that would mean more than a 50% reduction. It is further evidence of the gap between what needs to be done to meet climate targets and what countries are planning. Earlier this week, a report by the Stockholm Environment Institute warned that governments around the world are collectively planning to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be in line with keeping to 1. Ramp-up of renewables What gives some observers hope is that China has a track record of exceeding many of its international climate commitments. It had, for example, pledged to reach a capacity of 1,200 gigawatts for wind and solar power by 2030. It smashed through that goal in 2024 – six years early. "The targets should be seen as a floor rather than a ceiling," said Li Shuo, director of China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute. "China's rapid clean tech growth […] could propel the country much further over the coming decade," he added. "China's 2035 target simply isn't representative of the pace of the energy transition in the country," agreed Bernice Lee, distinguished fellow and senior adviser at Chatham House. "There's a case to be made that Beijing missed a trick in landing a more ambitious goal as it would have won broad global praise - a stark contrast to the US," she added. While China ramps up its renewables, it continues to rely heavily on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. Last year saw China's electricity generation from coal hit a new record – although initial data suggests it has fallen in the first half of 2025 amid a surge in solar electricity. "There is also mounting evidence that the country's emissions are plateauing, with this year's levels expected to be lower than in 2024," said Li Shuo. Today's new target signals "the beginning of decarbonisation after decades of rapid emissions growth", he added

America's blame game over Canada's wildfire smoke misses the point, experts say 5 hours ago Share Save Nadine Yousif Senior Canada reporter Share Save Getty Images Smoke from Canada's wildfires have drifted south to the US several times this summer, clouding the sky with an orange haze. As deadly wildfires raged in the Canadian province of Manitoba this summer, Republican lawmakers in nearby US states penned letters asking that Canada be held accountable for the smoke drifting south. "Our skies are being choked by wildfire smoke we didn't start and can't control," wrote Calvin Callahan, a Republican state representative from Wisconsin, in a letter dated early August. Callahan, along with lawmakers from Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota, filed a formal complaint with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging an investigation into Canada's wildfire management. Manitoba premier Wab Kinew quickly condemned the move, accusing the lawmakers of throwing a "timber tantrum" and playing "political games". US lawmakers complain that Canada's wildfire smoke is spoiling summer The far-reaching impacts of wildfire smoke – and how to protect yourself By August, the wildfires had scorched more than two million acres in Manitoba, forced thousands to evacuate, and killed two people – a married couple who authorities said were trapped by fast-moving flames around their family home. As September draws to a close, data shows that 2025 is on track to be Canada's second-worst wildfire season on record. A study published in the Nature journal in September has revealed that smoke from Canada's wildfires has also had far-reaching, fatal consequences. It estimates that the 2023 wildfires - the country's worst on record by area burned - caused more than 87,500 acute and premature deaths worldwide, including 4,100 acute, smoke-related deaths in the US and over 22,000 premature deaths in Europe. Wildfire smoke contains PM2. 5 - a type of air pollution - that is known to trigger inflammation in the body. It can exacerbate conditions like asthma and heart disease, and, in some causes, can damage neural connections in the brain. "These are big numbers," said Michael Brauer, a professor at the University of British Columbia who co-authored the study. He added the findings show wildfire smoke should be treated as a serious health issue, akin to breast cancer or prostate cancer. For some American lawmakers, the blame falls squarely on Canada. "Canada's failure to contain massive wildfires," Callahan wrote in August, "has harmed the health and quality of life of more than 20 million Americans in the Midwest. " Their complaints raise the question: Could Canada be doing more to curb its wildfires – and by extension, their smoke? Climate and fire experts in both countries told the BBC that the answer is largely no. "Until we as a global society deal with human-cased climate change, we're going to have this problem," said Mike Flannigan, an emergency management and fire science expert at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia. Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2025 Wildfire smoke can often travel hundreds of thousands of miles. A sattelite image here from August shows smoke from a fire in Newfoundland drifting over the Atlantic Ocean. Metrics show Canada's wildfires, a natural part of its vast boreal forest, have worsened in recent years. Fire season now starts earlier, ends later, and burns more land on average. The 2023 fires razed 15 million hectares (37 million acres) – an area larger than England – while the 2025 blazes have so far burned 8. 7 million hectares (21. As of mid-September, there are still more than 500 fires burning, mostly in British Columbia and Manitoba, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Roughly half of Canada's wildfires are sparked by lightning, while the rest stem from human activity, data from the National Forestry Database shows. Experts warn that hotter temperatures are making the land drier and more prone to ignition. Wildfires are not only worsening in Canada. The US has recently seen some of its most damaging blazes, including the 2023 Hawaii wildfires that killed at least 102 people, and the Palisades fire in January, the most destructive in Los Angeles history. Both countries have struggled to keep pace, often sharing firefighting resources. Canadian water bombers were deployed in California this year, while more than 600 US firefighters travelled north to assist Canada, according to the US Forest Service. In Canada, strained resources – and worsening fires – have fuelled calls for a national firefighting service. Wildfire emergency response is currently handled separately by each of the provinces and territories. "The system we have right now worked 40 years ago. Today? Not so much," argued Mr Flannigan. Others propose controlled burns, a practice used in Australia and by indigenous communities, as a solution, though these fires would still generate smoke. Some argue for better clearing of flammable material in forests and near towns, or investing in new technology that can help detect wildfires faster. Some of that work is already underway. In August, Canada pledged more than $47m for research projects to help communities better prepare for and mitigate wildfires. Getty Images Major Canadian cities, like Vancouver, have also been dealing with wildfire smoke

Environment Agency failed to visit serious pollution incidents, files show 5 hours ago Share Save Jonah Fisher Environment correspondent Share Save Getty Images Serious pollution incidents are those which have an impact on the environment, people or property. Documents and data shared with BBC News from inside England's much criticised environment watchdog show an agency struggling to monitor incidents of serious pollution. The information shows the Environment Agency (EA) only sent investigators to a small fraction of reported incidents last year and often relied on water companies - who may be responsible for the pollution - for updates. An internal EA document from this year states that all potentially serious incidents should be attended by staff. But in 2024, the EA didn't go to almost a third of nearly 100 water industry incidents that were eventually ruled to have posed a serious threat to nature or human health. The agency also downgraded the environmental impact of more than 1,000 incidents that it initially decided were potentially serious without sending anyone to take a look. The EA says it does "respond" to all incidents but has ways to assess pollution that don't involve going in person. It says when reports come in it is "careful not to underestimate the seriousness of an incident report". But the EA insider who provided the BBC with the data was critical of the agency. "What not attending means is that you are you are basically only dealing with water company evidence. And it's very rare that their own evidence is very damning," the insider said. Among the incident reports shared with the BBC were an occasion when a chemical spilled into a reservoir killing all its fish and which the EA did not attend. Another time, sewage bubbled up into a garden for more than 24 hours with no deployment from the EA. The BBC is not printing specific details from the reports to protect the identity of the whistleblower. But they show an agency often slow to respond and frequently copying water company updates into EA documents verbatim before downgrading incidents. Other documents show pollution incidents that were reported to the EA by water companies hours after the problem had already been solved, making the impact much harder to assess as the evidence may have washed away. The data show that overall the agency went to just 13% of all the pollution incidents, serious and more limited, that were reported to it in 2024. Jonah Fisher/BBC Ashley Smith from the campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) says its "virtually impossible" to get the Environment Agency to come out. "It's virtually impossible to get them to come out," Ashley Smith a veteran water quality campaigner from the Oxfordshire based campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) told the BBC. "(When you call the EA) they go through a scenario where they'll say 'are there any dead fish'. And, typically there are not dead fish because often the fish are able to escape. "The EA then says – we'll report that to Thames Water – and it will be Thames Water if anyone who gets in touch with you. " Jonah Fisher/BBC Matt Staniek (front row) is leading a campaign to get Windermere in the Lake District cleaned up

Nasa plans first crewed Moon mission in 50 years for February 2026 15 hours ago Share Save Pallab Ghosh Science Correspondent Share Save NASA Artemis II Crew: left Christina Koch, back Victor Glover (pilot), front Reid Wiseman (commander), right Jeremy Hansen Nasa has said it hopes to send astronauts on a ten-day trip around the Moon as soon as February. The US space agency had previously committed to launching no later than the end of April but said it aims to bring the mission forward. It's been 50 years since any country has flown a crewed lunar mission. Nasa will send four astronauts there and back to test systems. The Artemis II mission is the second launch of the Artemis programme, whose aim is to land astronauts and eventually establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface. NASA Artwork: Artemis II will be the first crewed lunar mission for more than 50 years Lakiesha Hawkins, Nasa's acting deputy associate administrator said it would be an important moment in the human exploration of space. "We together have a front row seat to history," she told a news conference this afternoon. "The launch window could open as early as the fifth of February, but we want to emphasize that safety is our top priority. " Artemis Launch Director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson explained that the powerful rocket system built to take the astronauts to the Moon, the Space Launch System (SLS) was "pretty much stacked and ready to go". All that remained was to complete the crew capsule, called Orion, connected to SLS and to complete ground tests. The first Artemis mission lasted 25 days and saw the launch of an uncrewed spacecraft in November 2022. It saw a spacecraft travel around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. The mission was overwhelmingly successful, though there were issues with the heatshield as the spacecraft re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. These have since been addressed. The Artemis II launch will see four astronauts go on a ten-day round trip to the Moon and back to the Earth. The astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, of Nasa and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, will not land on the Moon, though they will be the first crew to travel beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The lead Artemis II flight director, Jeff Radigan explained that the crew would be flying further into space than anyone had been before. "They're going at least 5,000 nautical miles (9,200Km) past the Moon, which is much higher than previous missions have gone," he told reporters. The aim of the mission is to test the rocket and spacecraft's systems to lay the ground for a lunar landing. The astronauts will enter the Orion capsule, which will be their home for the duration of their journey which sits on top of SLS. This will be carried initially into Earth orbit with the help of two solid rocket boosters, which will fall back to Earth two minutes after launch once they have done the heavy lifting. NASA A mock-up of Orion at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston Eight minutes after launch the massive Core stage will separate from the second stage, called the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System (ICPS), and the Orion crew capsule. Orion's solar arrays will unfurl and begin charging the spacecraft's batteries to provide power when it is not in direct sunlight. Ninety minutes later ICPS fires its engines to raise the vehicle to a higher Earth orbit, and for the next 25 hours there will be a full systems check. If everything is in order, Orion will separate from ICPS and there will be a form of "space ballet" between the two vehicles, more prosaically called the Proximity Operations Demonstration. Astronauts will manually control Orion's manoeuvring thruster to dance toward and away from ICPS. This will be to rehearse docking procedures in order to link up with a landing vehicle for the eventual Moon landing. Twenty-three hours later Orion's service module carries out a Translunar Injection (TLI) burn - a blast of thrust aiming it at the Moon - before Orion makes its four-day journey, taking the astronauts more than 230,000 miles from Earth. During the journey the astronauts will be continue to carry out systems checks. NASA/Robert Markowitz Spacesuit engineers demonstrate how four crew members would be arranged for launch inside the Orion spacecraft The crew will in some ways be human guinea pigs. Experiments will monitor how their bodies are affected by space. Scientists will grow tissue samples from the astronauts' blood called organoids both before and after their journey. The two sets of organoids will be compared to see how the astronauts' bodies have been affected by space, according to Dr Nicky Fox, Nasa's head of science. "You may be wondering why we are doing all that when we have the actual astronauts, she told BBC News. "We want to be able to study in depth the effect of the microgravity and the radiation on these samples. I'm certainly not going to dissect an astronaut! But I can dissect these little organoid samples and really look at the difference. " After the spacecraft slingshots past the Moon, the astronauts begin their four-day journey home, drawn back with the help of the Earth's gravity. On arrival, the service module, which has the spacecraft's primary propulsion system, separates from the crew module. The astronauts will then begin a dangerous part of the mission as they re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, and parachute back to the surface off the coast of California. NASA/Robert Markowitz A view of the crew's seating layout

org/our-work/press/mark-ruffalo-and-gloria-walton-join-line-climate-week-nyc Climate Group is thrilled to announce that actor, activist and co-founder of The Solutions Project, Mark Ruffalo along with the organization’s President and CEO Gloria Walton, will take to the stage at this year’s Opening Ceremony of Climate Week NYC, on Monday September 22. The Solutions Project first partnered with Climate Group as their inaugural Environmental Justice Program Partner in 2021. Together, they will make a powerful case for sustained investment in grassroots climate solutions that tackle equity and climate issues at a community level. Mark Ruffalo and Gloria Walton are the latest high-profile names to be added to the speaker line-up at Climate Week NYC, the biggest annual climate event of its kind. Climate Week NYC brings together decision makers from politics, business and civil society, alongside grassroots organizations and community leaders through hundreds of events across the City of New York. Mr Ruffalo and Ms Walton will join an influential roster of speakers that includes the Hon. President of Kenya, William Ruto; the Hon. Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, the Hon. Minster of Climate Change, Ralph Regenvanu of Vanuatu, and Ana Toni, CEO of COP30. On the main stage, Mark Ruffalo and Gloria Walton will take part in the session ‘From grassroots to global – turning public momentum into policy change. ’ Grassroots movements have shaped societies throughout history by demanding justice and shifting policy and holding power to account. Ruffalo and Walton will delve deep into the critical power of people at the frontline of the climate crisis, and how they can help shape and accelerate the global transition already underway. # Flashback: Hulk Actor Mark Ruffalo: ‘Trump will have the death of whole nations on his hands’

Key oceans treaty crosses threshold to come into force Environmentalists heralded the milestone as a "monumental achievement" and evidence that countries can work together for environmental protection. The deal, which has been two decades in the making, will pave the way for international waters to be placed into marine protected areas. The High Seas Treaty received its 60th ratification by Morocco on Friday, meaning that it will now take effect from January. A global agreement designed to protect the world's oceans and reverse damage to marine life is set to become international law. What is the plan to protect the high seas? "Covering more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement sets binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. Decades of overfishing, pollution from shipping and warming oceans from climate change have damaged life below the surface. In the latest assessment of marine species, nearly 10% were found to be at risk of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Three years ago countries agreed that 30% of the world's national and international waters - high seas - must be protected by 2030 to help depleted marine life recover. But protecting the high seas is challenging. No one country controls these waters and all nations have a right to ship and fish there. Currently just 1% of the high seas are protected, leaving marine life at risk from overexploitation. So, in 2023 countries signed the High Seas Treaty pledging to put 30% of these waters into Marine Protected Areas. But it was only able to enter force if more than 60 nations ratified it - meaning they agreed to be legally bound by it. With many nations requiring parliament approval, ratification can often take more than five years, Elizabeth Wilson, senior director for environmental policy at environmental NGO The Pews Charitable Trust, told the BBC at the UN Oceans Conference earlier this year. She said this was "record time". The UK introduced its bill for ratification to Parliament earlier this month. Kirsten Schuijt, director general of WWF International, hailed "a monumental achievement for ocean conservation" after the treaty threshold was reached. She added: "The High Seas Treaty will be a positive catalyst for collaboration across international waters and agreements and is a turning point for two-thirds of the world's ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction. " Mads Christensen, executive director of Greenpeace International, called it "a landmark moment" and "proof that countries can come together to protect our blue planet". "The era of exploitation and destruction must end. Our oceans can't wait and neither can we," he added. Once the treaty comes into force, countries will propose areas to be protected, and these will then be voted on by the countries that sign up to the treaty. Critics point out that countries will conduct their own environmental impact assessments (EIA) and make the final decision - although other countries can register concerns with the monitoring bodies. The ocean is crucial for the survival of all organisms on the planet. It is the largest ecosystem, is estimated to contribute $2. 5 trillion to world economies, and provides up to 80% of the oxygen we breathe