A farm labor contractor exposed laborers on H-2A agricultural visas to heat-related health hazards, but is still bringing hundreds of migrant farm workers to North Carolina
It was 4pm and 90F (32C) when Carlos Vargas Moreno and other farm workers set out to weed a watermelon field in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on 19 July 2022.
The work day had begun at 7am and included two 15-minute breaks and a one-hour lunch eaten outdoors. The heat index – what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature – was 98.3F. It was the kind of day that a heat safety app created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) defined as “hazardous” for outdoor workers.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
10/07/2026 - 06:00
10/07/2026 - 06:00
As well as books, the new facility offers hundreds of kits to connect people with the natural world, including hammocks and nightvision binoculars. We asked five of the first visitors what they thought of it
Mark Fink knows exactly why he opened the first public nature library in the US. “There are a lot of barriers for people to access nature here. We want people to learn about the birds and the plants in their own back yard and to appreciate that you don’t need a three-day camping trip in the mountains to experience nature.”
The library offers people in Colorado’s Adams county the opportunity to borrow books and equipment to help them to engage with the natural world – for free.
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10/07/2026 - 03:52
Guardian journalists Jonathan Watts and Gabrielle Canon will be online from 4pm BST (11am EDT) today to answer your El Niño questions.
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This year’s huge El Niño is causing climate chaos around the world. Temperate records have already been broken, with extreme heat reported from western Europe to California. Meanwhile, Bangkok is suffering massive flooding and the weather phenomenon is projected to cause a further 450,000 deaths globally by February.
Jonathan Watts, the Guardian’s global environment writer along with extreme weather reporter Gabrielle Canon will be online from 4pm BST (11am EDT) today to answer your questions on the unfolding crisis.
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10/07/2026 - 02:24
High court finding in favour of Hunter Valley community group sets precedent other environmentalists should follow, advocate says
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A landmark decision in Australia’s first climate change high court case has been described as a clear message to governments and fossil fuel companies that exported greenhouse gas emissions “cannot simply be ignored”.
On Wednesday morning, the nation’s highest court ruled that the approval of MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in NSW’s Hunter Valley was invalid, in a judgment that sets a precedent for fossil fuel projects in the state.
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10/07/2026 - 01:00
‘Techno-optimism’ may lead to reliance on unproven solutions at expense of societal changes needed
Scientists who believe technology will largely solve the problems caused by the climate crisis are less likely to engage in civic action on the issue, according to a study.
The report from the London School of Economics found they are 23% less likelyto sign petitions or take part in protests than peers who doubt that technology is the answer. They are also 18% less likely to make high-impact lifestyle changes, from reducing flights to changing to a vegan or vegetarian diet.
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10/07/2026 - 00:00
Teenagers Eva Wishart and Emily Smith launch project to breed and release 250 of the tiny animals by September
Children in Devon are being invited to become “citizen captive breeders”, rearing harvest mice at home for release into the wild to help revive endangered nature.
Wild Pets, a new conservation project launched by two 14-year-old friends, is seeking 20 Devon-based children to rear hundreds of mice after the duo’s own successful restoration efforts.
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10/06/2026 - 19:20
Ruling on Mount Pleasant coalmine shows ‘we cannot continue to dig up coal … and pretend the consequences have nothing to do with us’, group says
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A Hunter Valley community group has won Australia’s first high court case to consider climate change, in a ruling advocates say sets a binding national precedent for fossil fuel projects in New South Wales.
In a landmark judgment, the nation’s highest court ruled that the approval of MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in Muswellbrook was invalid.
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10/06/2026 - 18:11
Government report finds the country could be hit with more frequent and intense heatwaves, as well as damaging storms and cyclones
New Zealand could be hit with more frequent and intense heatwaves and catastrophic glacier melts in the near future, as greenhouse gas levels hit record highs, a new report about the nation’s climate has revealed.
Released on Wednesday, the Our Atmosphere and Climate 2026 report shows New Zealand is experiencing mounting climate pressures, which will have wide-reaching implications for the environment, native species and communities.
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10/06/2026 - 18:01
Service to be tested in Spain and Portugal this year, with a UK rollout if successful, as pre-loved markets boom
Ikea is to test an online version of its buy-back service where the retailer offers vouchers for unwanted secondhand furniture.
The service will be tested in Spain and Portugal before the end of December and will be launched in the UK if it proves successful. Ikea already offers buy-back in stores, including in the UK. The online version will extend it to a much wider audience, with Ikea predicting pre-owned goods are likely to grab 16% of the UK homewares market by next year
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10/06/2026 - 08:00
John Murdock had been working for the agency for 18 years and his resignation comes during an exodus of longtime federal workers and scientists
An 18-year veteran of the US Department of the Interior has resigned in protest from the sprawling federal agency, denouncing “a deeply troubling assault on the rule of the law” that took place at the department under Donald Trump.
John Murdock, an attorney and self-described conservative Christian, began working for the agency’s legal office in 2002. In his resignation letter, first sent to his supervisor earlier this year and obtained exclusively by the Guardian and Public Domain, Murdock cites “glaring legal flaws” he witnessed within the agency during the course of the Trump administration, as well as concerns over offshore oil and gas drilling, the aggressive push to expand fossil fuels and the flouting of environmental regulation.
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