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Labor is close to a deal on environmental law reforms. There are troubling signs these will fall short

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Friday, October 10, 2025

Chris Putnam/GettyThe Albanese government has hinted it is close to a deal with the Coalition over the long-awaited overhaul of Australia’s environment laws. Environment Minister Murray Watt plans to introduce new legislation to parliament in November. Can Watt deliver what is sorely needed to turn around Australia’s climate and nature crises? Or will we see a continuation of what former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry called “intergenerational bastardry”? However the bill is passed, the new laws must include substantial improvements. But with pressure from all sides – including the Opposition and minor parties, mining companies, green groups and big business – will the new laws be strong enough to protect Australia’s embattled environment? Here are some of the ways our environment laws should be reformed. Not fit for purpose Australia’s key national environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is 25 years old. Two major reviews, ten years apart in 2009 and 2020, criticised it variously as “too repetitive and unnecessarily complex” and “ineffective”. At the 2022 election the Albanese government promised to overhaul the laws. But most of its proposed reforms were abandoned in the lead up to the next election in 2025, citing a lack of parliamentary support. In 2022, Labor was talking up its plan to reform Australia’s broken environmental laws. A strong watchdog The success or failure of the reformed laws rests on developing well-defined National Environmental Standards – legally binding rules to improve environmental outcomes. These would apply to environmental decisions that affect nationally important plants, animals, habitats and places. Examples include land clearing in areas where threatened species occur, regional planning and Indigenous consultation. Alongside strong standards, we need a well-resourced and fearlessly independent Environment Protection Agency to assess proposals, such as applications for new gas wells or to clear native vegetation for mining. A strong EPA is essential for legal compliance. The Coalition doesn’t support an EPA and wants final approval powers to rest with the minister of the day. But if an EPA can be overruled by the minister, it could further reduce public confidence in the protection system, especially given recent examples of real or perceived industry pressure on government decisions. If the minister is given powers to “call in” proposals to assess them they should be very specific and restricted. For example, for responding to national disasters but not for purely economic purposes. The reasons for calling in a decision should be published and made public. The endangered southern black-throated finch is just one of many threatened Australian species. Geoff Walker/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC Habitats are homes for wildlife and need greater protection New laws should also clarify what are considered “unacceptable impacts” of new projects. For example, irreplaceable natural areas should be saved from destruction or damage by new developments. Destroying or damaging habitats that are home to rare and endangered species should be illegal. Protected, “no-go” areas could be recorded on a register to guide project decisions, as Watt has discussed. It is vital that environmental offsets, designed to compensate for unavoidable impacts from developments, are legislated as a last resort. Climate change The EPBC Act lacks a “climate trigger” that explicitly requires consideration of climate change impacts of greenhouse gas-intensive projects. At least ten previous attempts to introduce a climate trigger have not succeeded, and Watt has all but ruled it out in these reforms. Instead, Watt suggests “the existing Safeguard Mechanism as an effective way of controlling emissions”. The Safeguard Mechanism legislates limits on greenhouse gas emissions for Australia’s largest industrial facilities. But it only applies to the direct or scope 1, greenhouse gas emissions. It does not include emissions produced from Australia’s fossil fuel exports of coal, oil and gas. Nearly 80% of Australia’s contribution to global emissions comes from its fossil fuel exports. Even without a climate trigger, reforms to the EPBC Act must reflect the impact of climate change on Australia’s environments. They could require climate is taken into account in all decision making to achieve environmental outcomes under the Act, and prohibit development in places that offer refuge to native species during extreme events. First Nations to the front Environmental decision making must include genuine Indigenous engagement and a required standard should be part of the Act. A Commissioner for Country would help to ensure this expectation was adhered to. Furthermore, calls have been made by First Nations for new laws to include the protection of species based on their cultural significance. No more logging loopholes There must be an end to industry carve outs, including regional forestry agreements. A pact between the national government and certain states, these agreements define how native forests should be managed, harvested and protected. For decades, they have allowed the logging of forests that are home to endangered native species, including the koala and greater glider. In 2024, Victoria and Western Australia both ended the native forestry industries in their states. In August 2025, Watt confirmed that bringing regional forest agreements under the operation of national environment standards “remains our position”. But so far he has avoided questions about how that would work in practice. Clear targets If the Labor government is serious about delivering on its promise of “No New Extinctions” these reforms must include clear targets to better protect threatened animals, plants and their environments. Preventing further extinctions will take far greater, long-term funding than Australia currently provides. We need a better understanding of how endangered species and ecological communities are faring. The newly-created Environment Information Australia body will collect data and track progress against an agreed baseline, for example the 2021 State of Environment Report. Conservation leader not pariah Australia is known globally for its unique and much-loved wildlife, and its diverse and beautiful nature places. However, in the face of enormous pressure to enable increased development, we are gaining a reputation for our gross failures to care for and conserve this extraordinary natural heritage. Australia must step up as a global leader in nature conservation through strong environmental laws and biodiversity recovery strategies. As we bid to host the UN’s global climate summit COP31 next year, the eyes of the world will be on our environmental and climate ambition. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and president of the Australian Mammal Society.Phillipa C. McCormack receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Natural Hazards Research Australia, the National Environmental Science Program, Green Adelaide, the North East NSW Forestry Hub and the ACT government. She is a member of the National Environmental Law Association and International Association of Wildland Fire and affiliated with the Wildlife Crime Research Hub.Yung En Chee receives/has received funding from the Australian Research Council. She also receives funding and research contracts from Melbourne Water through the Melbourne Waterway Research-Practice Partnership 2023-2028. Yung En is a member of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Labor is close to a deal on its environmental law reforms. Will they strong enough to protect nature?

Chris Putnam/Getty

The Albanese government has hinted it is close to a deal with the Coalition over the long-awaited overhaul of Australia’s environment laws. Environment Minister Murray Watt plans to introduce new legislation to parliament in November.

Can Watt deliver what is sorely needed to turn around Australia’s climate and nature crises? Or will we see a continuation of what former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry called “intergenerational bastardry”?

However the bill is passed, the new laws must include substantial improvements. But with pressure from all sides – including the Opposition and minor parties, mining companies, green groups and big business – will the new laws be strong enough to protect Australia’s embattled environment? Here are some of the ways our environment laws should be reformed.

Not fit for purpose

Australia’s key national environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is 25 years old.

Two major reviews, ten years apart in 2009 and 2020, criticised it variously as “too repetitive and unnecessarily complex” and “ineffective”.

At the 2022 election the Albanese government promised to overhaul the laws. But most of its proposed reforms were abandoned in the lead up to the next election in 2025, citing a lack of parliamentary support.

In 2022, Labor was talking up its plan to reform Australia’s broken environmental laws.

A strong watchdog

The success or failure of the reformed laws rests on developing well-defined National Environmental Standards – legally binding rules to improve environmental outcomes. These would apply to environmental decisions that affect nationally important plants, animals, habitats and places. Examples include land clearing in areas where threatened species occur, regional planning and Indigenous consultation.

Alongside strong standards, we need a well-resourced and fearlessly independent Environment Protection Agency to assess proposals, such as applications for new gas wells or to clear native vegetation for mining. A strong EPA is essential for legal compliance.

The Coalition doesn’t support an EPA and wants final approval powers to rest with the minister of the day. But if an EPA can be overruled by the minister, it could further reduce public confidence in the protection system, especially given recent examples of real or perceived industry pressure on government decisions.

If the minister is given powers to “call in” proposals to assess them they should be very specific and restricted. For example, for responding to national disasters but not for purely economic purposes. The reasons for calling in a decision should be published and made public.

A brown and grey bird with a black chest on a gum branch
The endangered southern black-throated finch is just one of many threatened Australian species. Geoff Walker/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC

Habitats are homes for wildlife and need greater protection

New laws should also clarify what are considered “unacceptable impacts” of new projects. For example, irreplaceable natural areas should be saved from destruction or damage by new developments.

Destroying or damaging habitats that are home to rare and endangered species should be illegal. Protected, “no-go” areas could be recorded on a register to guide project decisions, as Watt has discussed.

It is vital that environmental offsets, designed to compensate for unavoidable impacts from developments, are legislated as a last resort.

Climate change

The EPBC Act lacks a “climate trigger” that explicitly requires consideration of climate change impacts of greenhouse gas-intensive projects.

At least ten previous attempts to introduce a climate trigger have not succeeded, and Watt has all but ruled it out in these reforms.

Instead, Watt suggests “the existing Safeguard Mechanism as an effective way of controlling emissions”. The Safeguard Mechanism legislates limits on greenhouse gas emissions for Australia’s largest industrial facilities.

But it only applies to the direct or scope 1, greenhouse gas emissions. It does not include emissions produced from Australia’s fossil fuel exports of coal, oil and gas. Nearly 80% of Australia’s contribution to global emissions comes from its fossil fuel exports.

Even without a climate trigger, reforms to the EPBC Act must reflect the impact of climate change on Australia’s environments. They could require climate is taken into account in all decision making to achieve environmental outcomes under the Act, and prohibit development in places that offer refuge to native species during extreme events.

First Nations to the front

Environmental decision making must include genuine Indigenous engagement and a required standard should be part of the Act. A Commissioner for Country would help to ensure this expectation was adhered to.

Furthermore, calls have been made by First Nations for new laws to include the protection of species based on their cultural significance.

No more logging loopholes

There must be an end to industry carve outs, including regional forestry agreements. A pact between the national government and certain states, these agreements define how native forests should be managed, harvested and protected.

For decades, they have allowed the logging of forests that are home to endangered native species, including the koala and greater glider. In 2024, Victoria and Western Australia both ended the native forestry industries in their states.

In August 2025, Watt confirmed that bringing regional forest agreements under the operation of national environment standards “remains our position”. But so far he has avoided questions about how that would work in practice.

Clear targets

If the Labor government is serious about delivering on its promise of “No New Extinctions” these reforms must include clear targets to better protect threatened animals, plants and their environments. Preventing further extinctions will take far greater, long-term funding than Australia currently provides.

We need a better understanding of how endangered species and ecological communities are faring. The newly-created Environment Information Australia body will collect data and track progress against an agreed baseline, for example the 2021 State of Environment Report.

Conservation leader not pariah

Australia is known globally for its unique and much-loved wildlife, and its diverse and beautiful nature places. However, in the face of enormous pressure to enable increased development, we are gaining a reputation for our gross failures to care for and conserve this extraordinary natural heritage.

Australia must step up as a global leader in nature conservation through strong environmental laws and biodiversity recovery strategies. As we bid to host the UN’s global climate summit COP31 next year, the eyes of the world will be on our environmental and climate ambition.

The Conversation

Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and president of the Australian Mammal Society.

Phillipa C. McCormack receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Natural Hazards Research Australia, the National Environmental Science Program, Green Adelaide, the North East NSW Forestry Hub and the ACT government. She is a member of the National Environmental Law Association and International Association of Wildland Fire and affiliated with the Wildlife Crime Research Hub.

Yung En Chee receives/has received funding from the Australian Research Council. She also receives funding and research contracts from Melbourne Water through the Melbourne Waterway Research-Practice Partnership 2023-2028. Yung En is a member of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Read the full story here.
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Scientists Are Uncovering the Secrets of How Fluffy, White Dandelions Spread Their Seeds

Their seed dispersal strategies have helped these ubiquitous plants flourish all over the world, new research suggests

Scientists Are Uncovering the Secrets of How Fluffy, White Dandelions Spread Their Seeds Their seed dispersal strategies have helped these ubiquitous plants flourish all over the world, new research suggests Sarah Kuta - Daily Correspondent October 6, 2025 2:50 p.m. Dandelions are strategic about when to disperse their seeds, new research suggests. Pixabay Chris Roh and his 4-year-old daughter have developed a sweet father-daughter ritual: Whenever they see a fluffy dandelion while they’re out walking, they pick up the flower and blow on it. But Roh is not just a dad, he’s also a fluid dynamicist at Cornell University. So this shared activity got him thinking: How, exactly, do dandelions disperse their seeds? Roh and his colleagues answer this question in a new paper published September 10 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, describing the mechanisms that enable the ubiquitous weed (Taraxacum officinale) to spread its white tufts on the breeze. Did you know? Dandelions of many names Dandelions have many nicknames around the world, from "Irish daisy" to "cankerwort." The weed is also sometimes called "wet-the-bed"—likely because of its diuretic effects. “How the seeds are attached to the parent plant, how they enable or prevent [detachment] based on environmental conditions—that moment is so important,” Roh says in a statement. “It sets the trajectory and governs a lot of how far they will go and where they will land,” he says, adding that the initial detachment process “is probably one of the most crucial moments in their biology.” For the study, scientists glued a force sensor to individual dandelion seeds. Then, they slowly tugged the seeds away from the stem in different directions, recording the force required to free them in each scenario. The scientists say this is the first time anyone has ever formally measured the force needed to detach dandelion seeds, per Science News’ Susan Milius. Pulling downward required nearly five times as much force to release the seeds from the plant than pulling upward, according to the researchers. The seeds were the most stubborn when the scientists pulled straight out from the seed head, requiring more than 100 times the force of pulling upward, per Phys.org’s Sanjukta Mondal. Next, the team looked at the plant under a microscope to see how the seeds were attached to the stem. The seeds are connected to the plant by a slender tether with a horseshoe-shaped structure providing support on one side, they discovered. The researchers theorize that when the wind blows the seed tuft toward the supported side of the horseshoe, it doesn’t budge. Only when the breeze blows the tuft toward the open side does the seed detach and float away. These findings won’t surprise anyone who has ever blown on a fluffy dandelion—only the closest tufts take flight, while those on the opposite side of the seed head remain firmly attached. Rotating the plant, while continuing to huff and puff, is the only way to free all the seeds. This asymmetrical arrangement is likely an adaptation to help ensure the plant’s seeds only detach when a wind gust is optimal for dispersal—that is, when the wind is poised to blow the seeds upward and away from the parent plant, instead of downward toward the ground. This, in turn, gives the species better chances of surviving and proliferating. “Seed dispersal over a wide area … offers seedlings the chance to thrive by avoiding being in close proximity to their relatives, which would limit resources for seedlings and the parent plant,” writes Mary Abraham for Nature News and Views. This unique, microscopic seed attachment architecture is likely a big reason why dandelions grow anywhere and everywhere—much to the chagrin of groundskeepers trying to maintain unblemished, manicured lawns. “Its seed dispersal strategies are at least partially responsible for its nearly worldwide distribution and evolutionary success,” the team writes in the paper. The researchers see dandelions as a model for other wind-dispersed plants, such as cotton and lettuce, so they hope their findings will have broader implications. Understanding the basic structural mechanics of dandelion seed dispersion could prove useful for scientists modeling plant and disease population dynamics, for instance, or for growers managing their fields. The findings may one day help improve “how crop seeds are distributed, especially in large-scale farming,” says study co-author Sridhar Ravi, an engineer at the University of New South Wales, Canberra, in Australia, in a statement. “It could lead to more efficient planting techniques that reduce waste and increase yield.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

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Beach lowering has begun across Cape Town: Why is the city pushing sand back into the sea?

As work begins at four key beaches, this coastal management practice reveals a delicate balance between infrastructure and nature. The post Beach lowering has begun across Cape Town: Why is the city pushing sand back into the sea? appeared first on SA People.

With Capetonians in a fuss about the recently announced beach lowering programme, many are asking the obvious question: Why are bulldozers pushing sand back into the ocean at Fish Hoek, Muizenberg, Gordon’s Bay, and Bikini Beach? Aren’t we supposed to protect our beaches, not remove sand from them? The confusion is understandable. As the annual programme kicked off this October, the sight of heavy machinery on beloved beaches naturally raises concerns. But the answer lies in understanding Cape Town’s unique coastal challenge: the relentless power of wind-blown sand during the Mother City’s notorious summer winds. The Problem Cape Town’s coastal areas exist in what officials call “highly altered coastal systems”: urban coastlines where infrastructure sits close to dynamic natural forces. During winter, sand accumulates naturally. But when summer arrives with the infamous southeaster winds, this sand becomes a moving threat. “The lowering of beach sand levels enables greater areas of the beach to become wet during high tides, therefore limiting the potential for wind-blown sand to inundate adjacent roads and infrastructure,” explains Alderman Eddie Andrews, the City’s Deputy Mayor. Without intervention, wind-blown sand can smother parking areas, block stormwater outlets, and threaten electrical infrastructure. At Hout Bay, a giant dune once endangered key facilities. The Science Beach lowering is different from simply removing sand. The City pushes sand from the upper beach to the low-water mark, where wave action transports it back into the coastal circulation system. “Beach lowering mimics a natural scour event which is common on our shorelines, and puts the sand back into the sea where it returns to circulation within the oceanic system,” the City notes. By lowering the beach profile, more surface area becomes wet during high tides. Wet sand is significantly heavier than dry sand and far less susceptible to wind transport, effectively anchoring it in place during the windy season. Environmental Balance Beach manipulation raises important environmental questions. Research worldwide has identified both benefits and concerns. On the positive side, the practice maintains natural sediment circulation, protects infrastructure without hard structures like seawalls, preserves beach access and tourism, and represents a reversible intervention. Potential concerns include temporary disruption to beach organisms, short-term water turbidity during work, and disturbance to shorebirds during operations. Cape Town’s approach minimises impacts by scheduling work between 1 October and 8 November, before peak summer season and bird nesting periods. Critically, sand isn’t removed from the coastal system entirely but returned to natural ocean circulation. Why Not Just Build Walls? Hard structures like seawalls might seem simpler, but they accelerate erosion on adjacent properties, reflect wave energy, permanently alter natural processes, and prove inflexible as sea levels rise. Beach lowering represents a “soft” engineering approach that preserves the beach as a natural, dynamic feature while managing wind-blown sand. Looking Forward As sea levels rise and extreme weather intensifies, Cape Town’s approach of minimal intervention offers lessons for coastal cities worldwide. “Our intention is to intervene as little as possible,” says Gregg Oelofse, head of the City’s Environmental Policy and Strategy. “We have learnt that the more you intervene, the more you mess the situation up.” The mechanical work runs through early November, completing before summer winds intensify. Beaches remain accessible, though visitors should stay clear of machinery. For most beachgoers, results will be largely invisible. Beaches won’t look dramatically different, they’ll simply function better with less sand blowing onto infrastructure. The sand being pushed back into the sea isn’t wasted. It’s being returned to its natural home, to be redistributed by the forces that brought it ashore. Sometimes the best solution is working with nature rather than against it. A Sandy Perspective For South Africans living abroad, particularly in the UK, Cape Town’s beach challenges offer an interesting contrast. British beaches are often rocky affairs, frequently backed by concrete seawalls built to hold back the sea. When the weather is actually good enough for a beach day, you’re more likely to find pebbles than sand. Cape Town’s problem isn’t a lack of beaches but managing an abundance of sand that wants to go where it shouldn’t. It’s a uniquely South African coastal challenge, and one that makes those sprawling False Bay beaches all the more precious. Beach lowering runs from 1 October to 8 November 2025, weather dependent. For updates, visit the City of Cape Town’s official website. The post Beach lowering has begun across Cape Town: Why is the city pushing sand back into the sea? appeared first on SA People.

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‘Desecration of landscape’: the fight over development in areas of outstanding natural beauty

Residents of Woodgate estate in West Sussex enjoy its open spaces and wildlife but conservationists say it has set worrying precedentUK fifth-worst country in Europe for loss of green space to developmentRevealed: Europe losing 600 football pitches of nature and crop land a dayA flock of goldfinches circle before settling on a rooftop as Sue takes her morning walk around the Woodgate estate in Pease Pottage, West Sussex. Rounding a corner, she reaches a large wildlife pond where eight signets and a swan are feeding. Dragonflies circle overhead.For the last three years, the estate a few miles south of Crawley built within the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) has been Sue’s home. Her son and daughter-in-law also live on the estate, where the 600 homes range from shared ownership flats to £1.4m luxury detached houses. Continue reading...

A flock of goldfinches circle before settling on a rooftop as Sue takes her morning walk around the Woodgate estate in Pease Pottage, West Sussex. Rounding a corner, she reaches a large wildlife pond where eight signets and a swan are feeding. Dragonflies circle overhead.For the last three years, the estate a few miles south of Crawley built within the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) has been Sue’s home. Her son and daughter-in-law also live on the estate, where the 600 homes range from shared ownership flats to £1.4m luxury detached houses.Cycleways, leisure parks, a village green and wildlife ponds give the estate a lush and green backdrop.Analysis by the Guardian found that the estate was the largest land grab of an AONB by developers in Britain in the five years between 2018 and 2023.At 45 hectares, the development sprawls across the High Weald AONB. These precious, natural landscapes, which have been renamed national landscapes, are supposed to be some of the country’s most protected areas.There are 42 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, awarded the designation for qualities including their relative wildness, tranquillity and any distinctive habitats they may support.The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) fiercely fought the plans for the Woodgate estate, saying it created a worrying precedent and appeared to undermine the protections behind national landscape designation.Kia Trainor, a director at the CPRE’s Sussex branch, described the development as the “desecration of our most beautiful landscape’”. In a later report, the CPRE released data showing that AONBs were facing an insidious threat in the form of a dramatic increase in major housing applications.Sue, on her walk with her friend Sarah, however, points out the large village green at the centre of the development, the pathways, the primary school and community shop, before heading into the woodland walk that takes you into the depths of Tilgate Forest, which is next to the estate.The development sprawls across the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian“We were just saying to each other how beautifully they have created this estate,” Sue says. “There are big open spaces and we see a lot of wildlife. The large pond at the bottom of the estate is amazing, it has brought in so much wildlife.“Before this estate was built, the land was farmland and they held a car boot sale here. This estate is great for children with all the open space, they can cycle and walk everywhere. They are planting an orchard here and creating a walking trail, which goes all around the development, and a games field for ball games.”The developers, Thakeham, told the Guardian that from the beginning they integrated infrastructure, biodiversity, and green spaces and pathways into the design. “Wildlife-friendly enhancements such as bird boxes, bat boxes, swift bricks, hedgehog highways, and insect hotels can be found across the development,” said a spokesperson. That includes the Meadow Maze, which includes over 50 varieties of wildflowers to attract pollinators and contributes to the broader B-Line project. “Thakeham made a commitment to deliver BNG of 10% on its developments three years before it became a statutory minimum in February 2024.”Balancing housing requirements with the need to protect and enhance nature in the UK, where there have been significant declines in species and habitats since the 1970s and less than half of its original biodiversity remains intact, will always be difficult.The 600-home estate has a large village green, primary school and community shop. Photograph: Jill Mead/The GuardianMid Sussex district council has assessed that it is required to build 19,741 new homes for the period 2021-40 to comply with national planning targets. Existing commitments will provide 8,696 homes and the council needs to find locations for the remaining 7,558.The CPRE says there needs to be a balance of economic, social and environmental considerations and that building large developments away from existing residential areas will force people into cars and does not amount to sustainable development.In addition, the UK has committed to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 – a target contained in the Environment Act. But the Labour government’s determination to roll back environmental laws in its push for growth will put some of the UK’s most precious and protected land at risk of destruction by housebuilding, experts say.Jackie Copley, a campaign lead for the CPRE, said: “Areas of outstanding natural beauty are supposed to enjoy the highest status of protection for landscape reasons and that is supposed to stop major development taking place on them. A development of 600 houses with a school and district centre is unarguably a major development.‘The large pond at the bottom of the estate is amazing, it has brought in so much wildlife,’ resident Sue says. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian“Very soon if we continue to allow piecemeal developments across areas of outstanding natural beauty, they are going to cease to have any landscape value.”Her words are prescient. Another large development within and adjacent to the High Weald national landscape is in the pipeline: 1,450 homes to be on agricultural land between Cuckfield and the village of Ansty.As campaigners join the CPRE to fight the development, a High Weald national landscape officer has recently warned of serious adverse impacts from the proposed development, citing major effects on the landscape character, visual quality, and a failure to conserve and enhance the area’s natural beauty.The Guardian’s Green to Grey team included Pamela Duncan, Zeke Hunter-Green, Tural Ahmedzade and Patrick Barkham with additional reporting by Rachel Keenan, Raphael Boyd, Olivia Lee, Yassin El-Moudden, Gracie Daw, Matthew Holmes, Mariam Amini, Gabriel Smith, Dominic Kendrick and Emma RussellFor more, visit greentogrey.euThe next phase of this project will be planet-wide: join a crowdsourced citizen science initiative to measure global nature loss here

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Inspired by Nature: 10 Powerful New Memoirs and Biographies

These new books showcase moments where embracing nature led to personal discoveries or scientific breakthroughs. The post Inspired by Nature: 10 Powerful New Memoirs and Biographies appeared first on The Revelator.

Everyone experiences life-altering events — the sudden loss of a loved one, professional or personal disruptions, natural disasters, or periods of burnout that stop us in our tracks. These times can leave us feeling lost, but they’re not forever. Several new books published in 2025 feature life-affirming stories of how the natural world has helped people find new directions in life. These memoirs and biographies can help us to similarly embrace nature and wildlife to reaffirm, reawaken, and restore our creativity, resilience, and selves. We’ve excerpted the books’ official descriptions below and provided links to the publishers’ sites. You should also be able to find these books in a variety of formats through your local bookstore or library. All Humans Outside: Stories of Belonging in Nature by Tommy Corey A reflective look at the varied ways people’s lives are forever changed by nature through sustainability and conservation work, outdoor sports and recreation, community building, and more. Corey traveled across the United States and conducted more than two hundred interviews to chronicle these diverse experiences, sharing them through documentary-style photography and both first-person and third-person stories. Subjects include backcountry horse rider Gillian Larson, Triple Crowner and sponsored athlete Jack Jones, self-described “seminomadic van-dwelling grandma” Pacific Crest Trail hiker Karen DeSousa, Filipinx immigrant and park ranger Francis Eymard Mendoza, adaptive athlete Annijke Wade, New York Hunters of Color ambassador Brandon Dale, bestselling author and runner Mirna Valerio, and many more. Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili Taylor Most people don’t really know birds — or rather, they aren’t aware of them. Lili Taylor used to be one of those people. She knew birds existed. She thought about them, maybe even more than the average person. But she didn’t know them. And then something happened. During a much-needed break from her work as an actor, Lili sought silence and instead found the bustling, symphonic world of birds that had always existed around her… Through a series of beautifully crafted essays, Taylor shares her intimate encounters with the birds that have captured her heart and imagination — from tracking flitting woodpeckers through oak trees to spotting majestic blue jays perched on a Manhattan fire escape; from the exhilaration of witnessing a migratory flock from the top of the Empire State Building to the quiet joy of observing a nest of hatchlings in her own backyard. Through simply paying attention to birds, Lili has been shown a parallel world that is wider and deeper, one of constant change and movement, full of life and the will to survive. Hope Dies Last: Visionary People Across the World, Fighting to Find Us a Future by Alan Weisman The bestselling author of The World Without Us returns with a book ten years in the making: a study of what it means to be a human on the front lines of our planet’s existential crisis. To write this book, Weisman traveled the globe, witnessing climate upheaval and other devastations, and meeting the people striving to mitigate and undo our past transgressions. From the flooding Marshall Islands to revived wetlands in Iraq, from the Netherlands and Bangladesh to the Korean DMZ and to cities and coastlines in the U.S. and around the world, he has encountered the best of humanity battling heat, hunger, rising tides, and imperiled nature. He profiles the innovations of big thinkers — engineers, scientists, conservationists, economists, architects, and artists — as they conjure wildly creative, imaginative responses to an uncertain, ominous future. At this unprecedented point in history, as our collective exploits on this planet may lead to our own undoing and we could be among the species marching toward extinction, they refuse to accept defeat. Bad Naturalist: One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop by Paula Whyman When Paula Whyman first climbs a peak in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in search of a home in the country, she has no idea how quickly her tidy backyard ecology project will become a massive endeavor. Just as quickly, she discovers how little she knows about hands-on conservation work. In Bad Naturalist, readers meander with her through orchards and meadows, forests and frog ponds, as she is beset by an influx of invasive species, rattlesnake encounters, conflicting advice from experts, and delayed plans—but none of it dampens her irrepressible passion for protecting this place. With delightful, lyrically deft storytelling, she shares her attempts to coax this beautiful piece of land back into shape. It turns out that amid the seeming chaos of nature, the mountaintop is teeming with life and hope. Radical by Nature: The Revolutionary Life of Alfred Russel Wallace by James T. Costa Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) was perhaps the most famed naturalist of the Victorian age. His expeditions to remote Amazonia and southeast Asia were the stuff of legend. A collector of thousands of species new to science, he shared in the discovery of natural selection and founded the discipline of evolutionary biogeography. Radical by Nature tells the story of Wallace’s epic life and achievements, from his stellar rise from humble origins to his complicated friendship with Charles Darwin and other leading scientific lights of Britain to his devotion to social causes and movements that threatened to alienate him from scientific society. Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton In February 2021 Dalton stumbles upon a newborn hare — a leveret — that had been chased by a dog. Fearing for its life, she brings it home, only to discover how difficult it is to rear a wild hare, most of whom perish in captivity from either shock or starvation. Through trial and error, she learns to feed and care for the leveret with every intention of returning it to the wilderness. Instead, it becomes her constant companion, wandering the fields and woods at night and returning to Dalton’s house by day. Though Dalton feared that the hare would be preyed upon by foxes, weasels, feral cats, raptors, or even people, she never tried to restrict it to the house. Each time the hare leaves, Chloe knows she may never see it again. Yet she also understands that to confine it would be its own kind of death. Raising Hare chronicles their journey together while also taking a deep dive into the lives and nature of hares, and the way they have been viewed historically in art, literature, and folklore. The Bird Singers: How Two Boys Discovered the Magic of Birdsong By Jean Boucault and Johnny Rasse This captivating book brings together two birds of a feather: Jean and Johnny, boys from very different worlds growing up in a small village in France. Jean is the genteel pharmacist’s son, dressed in his Sunday best; Johnny’s father is a rough, working-class sheep herder, always with the odor of animals clinging to him. Each year, over 300 bird species visit their village, which intersects a major migratory flyway. The two boys’ stories converge when Jean enters a bird-calling contest. He places second, and at only eleven years old becomes a child celebrity on the bird-calling circuit. Then Johnny starts to compete as well. At the annual bird festival, both boys are standouts, and a long, admiring rivalry develops between them, eventually culminating in the European championships. North to the Future: An Offline Adventure Through the Changing Wilds of Alaska by Ben Weissenbach At the age of 20, college student Ben Weissenbach went north to Arctic Alaska armed with little more than inspiration from his literary heroes and a growing interest in climate change. What met him there was a world utterly unlike the 21st century Los Angeles in which he grew up — a land of ice, rock, and grizzlies seen by few outside a small contingent of scientists with big personalities… As these scientists teach Ben to read Alaska’s warming landscape, he confronts the limits of digital life and the complexity of the world beyond his screens. He emerges from each adventure with a new perspective on our modern relationship to technology and a growing wonder for our fast-changing — ever-changing — natural world. Take to the Trees: A Story of Hope, Science, and Self-Discovery in America’s Imperiled Forests by Marguerite Holloway Journalist Marguerite Holloway arrives at the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop as a climbing novice, but with a passion for trees and a deep concern about their future. Run by twin sister tree doctors Bear LeVangie and Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll, the workshop helps people — from everyday tree lovers to women arborists working in a largely male industry. As Holloway tackles unfamiliar equipment and dizzying heights, she learns about the science of trees and tells the stories of charismatic species, including hemlock, aspen, Atlantic white cedar, oak, and beech. She spotlights experts who are chronicling the great dying that is underway in forests around the world as trees face simultaneous and accelerating threats from drought, heat, floods, disease, and other disruptions. Holloway also comes to understand the profound significance of trees in her relationship with her family. The story of trees and their resilience meshes with that of people working to steward the forests of the future. A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory By Dr. Jagadish Shukla Until 40 years ago, we couldn’t forecast weather conditions beyond ten days. Renowned climate scientist Dr. Jagadish Shukla is largely to thank for modern weather forecasting. Born in rural India with no electricity, plumbing, or formal schools, he attended classes that were held in a cow shed. Shukla grew up amid turmoil: overwhelming monsoons, devastating droughts, and unpredictable crop yields. His drive brought him to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, despite little experience. He then followed an unlikely path to MIT and Princeton, and the highest echelons of climate science. His work, which has enabled us to predict weather farther into the future than previously thought possible, allows us to feed more people, save lives, and hold on to hope in a warming world. That’s it for this month, but you can find hundreds of additional environmental book recommendations, including many more memoirs and biographies, in the “Revelator Reads” archives. And let us know what you’re reading: drop us a line at comments@therevelator.org Previously in The Revelator: Earth Versed: 10 New Poetry Books About Our Relationship With Nature Republish this article for free! Read our reprint policy. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Scan the QR code, or sign up here.     The post Inspired by Nature: 10 Powerful New Memoirs and Biographies appeared first on The Revelator.

Nature
Animals
Conservation

Historic Sale of Dams Clears the Way for Salmon to Return to the Kennebec River

The Nature Conservancy has announced that it will purchase and oversee four hydroelectric dams on the lower Kennebec River in Maine, paving the way for their eventual removal

The Nature Conservancy on Tuesday announced a landmark investment worth $168 million to purchase and oversee Brookfield Renewable’s four hydroelectric dams on the lower Kennebec River in Maine, paving the way for their eventual removal.The sale all but guarantees unfettered access for endangered Atlantic salmon and other seagoing fish from the Gulf of Maine to their historic spawning grounds upstream on the Sandy River for the first time since the Kennebec River was permanently dammed more than a century ago.The four dams are located in and between Waterville and Skowhegan and are the last impediments between the mouth of the Kennebec River and its confluence with the Sandy River near Norridgewock. The two parties finalized a purchase agreement on Sept. 15 that requires Brookfield to continue operating the dams over the next few years while The Nature Conservancy establishes a broader river restoration plan with stakeholder input, said Alex Mas, deputy state director for The Nature Conservancy in Maine, in an exclusive interview with The Maine Monitor.“Ultimately, the bigger vision is a free-flowing lower Kennebec that restores the ecology and strengthens the economy,” Mas said.The agreement does not include any of the five Brookfield dams farther upstream on the main stem of the Kennebec River and near its headwaters with Moosehead Lake, which experts say provides inferior fish habitat compared with the Sandy River.In addition to the $138 million already raised for the purchase of the dams, Mas said The Nature Conservancy plans to raise an additional $30 million to complete the acquisition and fund the budget of a new nonprofit entity that will take ownership of the dams and continue to staff them with Brookfield engineers and technicians.The nonprofit would then maintain the dams and ensure their continued energy production over the next five to 10 years or however long the lengthy federal regulatory process takes to decommission the dams. Meanwhile, The Nature Conservancy plans to solicit input from residents along the Kennebec River and others about how to remove the dams or redevelop their infrastructure.That includes working with Sappi North America, whose paper mill in Skowhegan relies on water diverted by the nearby Shawmut dam for plant operations, to find a technical solution to continue to fulfill the mill’s water needs, Mas said. Sappi employs 780 people at the Somerset Mill and recently completed a $500 million update that will double the production capacity of one of Somerset’s paper machines. It was the second of two multi-million-dollar improvements Sappi has made over the past decade.“We are 100 percent committed to developing a solution with Sappi for the Somerset Mill and their long-term water system needs,” Mas told The Monitor. “The Nature Conservancy is a large forest landowner in the state, so we are very keenly aware of how important that mill is, not just to the economy in the region, but also to the forest products industry as a whole.”It was only four years ago that Gov. Janet Mills’ administration recommended removing the Shawmut dam to improve habitat for Atlantic salmon and other seagoing fish. Sappi officials condemned the proposal and said Shawmut’s loss would cause it to close its paper mill. The Maine Department of Marine Resources backed away from that proposal shortly after Sappi’s backlash and a lawsuit from the dams’ owner, Brookfield Renewable, demonstrating the contention around the dams and their role in Maine’s shrinking paper industry.Sean Wallace, a vice president for Sappi North America, reiterated the company’s concern with removing Shawmut dam but said Sappi was open to negotiating a technical solution with The Nature Conservancy.“We believe there are solutions that preserve the impoundment and allow fisheries to thrive without sacrificing the livelihoods and investments tied to the mill,” Wallace said in a statement.Brookfield Renewable declined an interview request. In a statement given to The Monitor, CEO Stephen Gallagher said, “Brookfield remains committed to ensuring that Maine homes and businesses continue to benefit from reliable and clean hydropower on the Kennebec River and throughout the State.” The return of the Atlantic salmon Wabanaki officials, fishermen groups and others have advocated to remove the dams for decades. They hail the dams’ demolition as one of the last hopes to save federally protected Atlantic salmon from extinction after centuries of the species’ decline.Once abundant across New England, today wild Atlantic salmon are only found in eastern Maine rivers. Roughly 1,200 total Atlantic salmon on average return to Gulf of Maine tributaries such as the Kennebec River each year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Of those, fewer than 100 adult salmon annually are captured at the Lockwood dam on the Kennebec River near Waterville and trucked around the three other upstream dams to their breeding grounds in the Sandy River, according to John Burrows, vice president of U.S. operations for the Atlantic Salmon Federation.Improvements to the fish passways at the lower Kennebec River dams and others have only caused marginal gains for Atlantic salmon populations in recent years. Adults rely on truck transport to migrate upstream, and the juveniles they produce there often die when they migrate through the dams back downstream to the ocean.“If the dams weren’t there, then we would have far better downstream passage and great upstream passage,” Burrows told The Monitor. “This run of adult fish could go from less than 100 on average to several hundred in a really short time.”Ensuring unimpeded access to the cold, nutrient-rich habitat of the Sandy River is the single most important step to restore the species, state and federal officials have said.“What’s so unusual about the Sandy is that it has kind of the best possible confluence of factors,” Mas said. “You have these incredible cold water springs, great natural substrate, shade and a huge abundance of high-quality habitat. Historically, before there were any dams, the Sandy River would have been one of the most important places in the state for Atlantic salmon.”In addition to removing the four lower Kennebec dams, Burrows said two additional dam removal projects on tributaries leading to the Sandy River will open up 825 miles of river and stream habitat to the Gulf of Maine, creating a better chance for the Atlantic salmon’s survival.The Atlantic salmon isn’t the only species that would benefit from a free-flowing lower Kennebec. River herring, Atlantic sturgeon and American eel all rely on Maine’s freshwater rivers to either spawn or feed before swimming out to sea.Atlantic sturgeon — prehistoric, armored fish — are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. (That is a step down in severity from the Atlantic salmon’s endangered status.) River herring and American eel support Maine’s robust fisheries economy as both product and bait for Maine lobstermen. “River herring are a crucial forage stock in our ecosystems” and a preferred bait for lobster fishermen, said Ben Martens, executive director of Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. “So there are very real benefits to the commercial fishing industry, the lobster industry, in particular, of getting local sustainable bait in the spring.”Mas, Burrows, Martens and other fisheries advocates all point to the 1999 removal of the Edwards dam near Augusta and 2008 removal of the Fort Halifax dam near Winslow as a sign of the potential upsides to removing the final four dams on the lower Kennebec River.River herring runs on the Kennebec River increased by 228 percent after the Edwards dam removal and 1,425 percent after the Fort Halifax dam removal, according to a 2020 study. After years of decline, Atlantic and endangered shortnose sturgeon are now rebounding in the Kennebec River, too, producing a spectacle near Augusta each spring when they leap above the water’s surface during their migration upstream. Energy tradeoffs, property tax changes The ultimate removal of the four lower Kennebec River dams would mean the loss of the 46 megawatts of total electric capacity they provide Maine’s grid. The four dams accounted for roughly 6 percent of the state’s hydroelectric capacity in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and an even smaller sliver of Maine’s total renewable energy capacity. The Nature Conservancy and other dam removal advocates have highlighted these figures as proof that the lower Kennebec River dams’ energy contributions are minimal and outweighed by the ecological impacts they have on the larger river ecosystem.As The Nature Conservancy continues to operate the dams for the next several years, it will work to develop new renewable energy sources and storage facilities that can be phased in as the dams are removed, Mas said.The dams’ removal will also result in the loss of more than $500,000 in annual property tax revenue for Waterville, Skowhegan, Winslow and Fairfield, municipal tax records show.Kristina Cannon, president and CEO of Main Street Skowhegan, said she’s confident that revenue can be offset by her nonprofit’s development of a whitewater river park in downtown Skowhegan and other regional redevelopment efforts happening elsewhere.The river park alone will bring in $625,000 through annual tax benefits, Cannon said, and she has broader hopes that the Kennebec River valley will continue to usher in new outdoor recreation opportunities. “What people need to remember first and foremost is that this is not happening tomorrow,” Cannon said. “This was a private sale, so this is not something that any of us locally could control, but what we should be doing is thinking about growth opportunities with what comes.”Many current Wabanaki tribal citizens descend from the Kennebec River area and have a distinct cultural connection to the river, said Darren Ranco, professor of anthropology at the University of Maine and a citizen of the Penobscot Nation.In 1724, English soldiers violently attacked the Indigenous community that lived near present-day Norridgewock, eventually driving survivors and other Indigenous people in the Kennebec River valley north toward the Penobscot River and New Brunswick.Ranco is a member of The Nature Conservancy’s board of trustees and will work with other Wabanaki officials to advise the nonprofit during its next stages of the dams’ acquisition and river restoration. He said he sees immense potential for restoring the Kennebec River ecosystem, opening up traditional hunting and fishing opportunities, and highlighting Indigenous stories associated with the river valley and its place names. “I think once you start to really open those up, you start to see the vibrancy of the ecology and the stories we’ve connected to over the last several thousand years,” Ranco told The Monitor. “And I think opening up dams opens up that flood of connectivity to places in that really deep way.”Mas, with The Nature Conservancy, said his organization is consulting both Wabanaki tribes and municipalities along the Kennebec River as it decides its next steps.As part of the sale, The Nature Conservancy will acquire many land parcels and pieces of dam infrastructure such as the historic powerhouse at Lockwood dam. The organization is open to redeveloping them for some community or commercial purpose.“Our hope would be that we could find a path that works for each (town) and not try to force them too quickly and just sort of pace it in a way that actually works,” Mas said.After the four dams officially change hands, Mas said The Nature Conservancy will need to raise at least an additional $140 million to fund the surrender of the dams’ federal energy licenses, in addition to their ultimate removal and redevelopment.Dam deregulation is a lengthy, resource-intensive process that requires in-depth environmental impact studies and technical back-and-forth between attorneys, engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The four dams will also need to receive their new and amended federal licenses to operate in the interim, which could wrap up in the next few months depending on some state approvals.The Nature Conservancy has already completed some initial environmental reviews on the dams and their impoundments, ensuring no toxic sediments have built up over the years behind the dams that could be released with their removal, Mas said, but more in-depth studies will be needed for the formal decommissioning approval process.“We’re committed to both restoring the ecology of the river and strengthening the economy of the region,” Mas said. “And that means each site is a project unto itself, and we need to take the time to get the plan right.”This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

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