Trump EPA’s arguments for letting power plants spew unlimited pollution ‘dead wrong’ 16. September 2026 (14:00) Claims that dismantling pollution rules will lower energy bills and have little climate impact are far from convincingIn allowing US power plants to emit any amount of planet-heating pollution they wish to, the Trump administration made two striking claims – that this will cut Americans’ electricity bills and that the pollution itself doesn’t really matter anyway. Both claims struggle to stand up to even basic scrutiny.On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would erase any limits on emissions from coal and gas plants that are dangerously heating up our planet. This move, which follows a similar dismantling of pollution limits from cars ands trucks, is part of a broader push to eliminate the longstanding legal authority of this, or any future, US administration to deal with the climate crisis. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The ‘Ossoff angle’: media-savvy senator borrows from Obama as 2028 chatter builds 16. September 2026 (14:00) Pictures of Georgia Democrat looking into middle distance proliferate – and social media skills have boosted his profileDelivering a speech in Atlanta last month, Jon Ossoff accused Donald Trump of corruption, incompetence and fecklessness, and peppered his remarks with substantive observations of dates and times and places. But the comment that ricocheted across the internet – a clip of just a few seconds – was an almost-throwaway reference about how the US president wants to “travel with Natalie” onboard Air Force One.The crowd cheered the US senator, who is running for re-election in battleground Georgia and is increasingly seen as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2028. But his target audience that day – and this year – spanned far beyond the concert hall. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Microplastics in soil pose global threat by acting like ‘Trojan horse’ to deliver toxins 16. September 2026 (14:00) Exclusive: Plastic surfaces form hotspots with an increase of antibiotic-resistant genes, study findsMicroplastics act like a “Trojan horse” delivering pollutants, pesticides and bacteria through the soil, a five-year multinational research project has found.The EU-funded project, which has so far resulted in 22 peer-reviewed studies, found microplastics in the soil of all 227 agricultural fields it tested across 11 European countries. The researchers said this poses a global threat, with healthy soils essential for life on Earth. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Scotland imposes mandatory environmental assessments on new datacentres 16. September 2026 (13:55) Government announces before vote on moratorium that any projects above 50MW must submit assessments in planning processLarge-scale datacentres will face mandatory environmental assessments before they can go ahead, the Scottish government has announced, amid growing public concern about the impact of the AI boom.Ahead of a vote on a moratorium on new hyperscale datacentres in Holyrood on Wednesday, the Scottish government has tightened rules for new projects by requiring any above 50MW to submit environmental impact assessments, but stopped short of agreeing to an outright halt. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
At least 20 killed after Israeli-hit building in Gaza City collapses 16. September 2026 (13:34) Rescue workers say search for dozens of people hampered by lack of heavy machineryA building housing about 100 displaced Palestinian families has collapsed in Gaza City, killing at least 20 people, as rescuers search the rubble for dozens of people believed to be trapped, including children.A rescue team from Gaza’s civil defence said they had recovered the bodies of five children among the victims, while 25 injured people were taken to hospital. Medical sources said rescuers could hear the voices of people trapped beneath the rubble as they tried to reach them. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
