Economic reconstruction is a chance to speed up decarbonisation, and the pandemic has shown a different kind of politics is possible

We’re already being swamped with ideas about “reforms” needed to recover from the pandemic crisis. But the word reform is like gift wrap – a handy cover for any offering, thought-through or otherwise.

Perhaps we should ditch the word entirely, and with it the forest of feelpinions about what governments “must” do to advance an author’s previously-held ideological positioning in the post-corona world.

Planet of the Humans film has had 5m views on YouTube and has enraged renewable energy experts who are demanding an apology

Planet of the Humans is an environmental documentary that has enraged renewable energy experts and environmentalists, with some calling for its high-profile executive producer, Michael Moore, to apologise.

It was released for free less than two weeks ago, and at the time of writing had had close to 5m views on YouTube.

Investment mandate of the Clean Energy Financing Corporation will be changed, but no guarantee hydrogen will be produced from renewables

The Morrison government will change the investment mandate of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, directing it to make up to $300m available for a new Advancing Hydrogen Fund as part of the national hydrogen strategy.

The Coalition’s move to create a dedicated hydrogen financing fund will be confirmed on Monday, and comes ahead of other changes the government intends to make to the CEFC’s investment program, including requiring it to support new investments in grid reliability.

Revealed: records show law enforcement has called demonstrators possible ‘domestic terrorism’ threats

US law enforcement officials preparing for fresh Keystone XL pipeline protests have privately discussed tactics to stop activists “by any means” and have labeled demonstrators potential “domestic terrorism” threats, records reveal.

Internal government documents seen by the Guardian show that police and local authorities in Montana and the surrounding region have been preparing a coordinated response in the event of a new wave of protests opposing the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada to Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Warming springs can cause plants to bloom earlier, alter hibernation times and locations for migrating animals, and increase insect populations

Across the south-eastern US, trees are unfurling their clouds of leaves after winter. Yet this picturesque and usually welcome development is this year cause for consternation.

New data from the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) shows that in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and northern Florida, spring has arrived more than three weeks earlier than average, and earlier than at any point in the last 39 years it has been tracked.

Parks have remained open amid the coronavirus and become a haven over the past week, prompting fears for staff and large crowds

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Even as Broadway shows were shuttered and Disneyland was closed due to the Covid-19, most US national parks were open for business on Tuesday, confounding public health officials and worrying park staff who did not want to be exposed to the virus.

National parks have become a haven over the past week as the public seeks places to go during spring break. One park employee reported on Facebook that a visitor center at Big Bend national park was full on Monday with hundreds of people. Another shared a photo of shoulder to shoulder crowds at Zion national park waiting to board shuttle buses. (The park closed its shuttle bus system later in the day.)

More than half the National Park Service’s unit remain open but local police and health officials are urging people to stay away

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As mild temperatures and spring blooms emerged in southern Utah this past weekend, so did the tourists. At Capitol Reef national park, the trailhead parking lot was full of cars bearing plates from states such as California, Washington, Colorado and Georgia, all Covid-19 hotspots. The hikers were either oblivious to or ignoring the plea from the local sheriff’s office that outsiders stay away.

“While we would normally welcome visitors to enjoy the beauty of Wayne county, we really don’t want visitors during the Covid-19 pandemic,” stated a 3 April post on the sheriff’s Facebook page. Wayne county, where Capitol Reef is located, has 2,600 residents and little in the way of healthcare services. “If you don’t live here, please don’t come here.”

Hundreds of workers pass through Ajo, Arizona, daily. Residents say they have been partying and visiting stores in large groups

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Unlike the rest of the US, the sleepy border community of Ajo, Arizona, is busier than ever these days, as hundreds of border wall construction workers pass through each day.

“The rest of us are staying at home just the way the governor has ordered,” said Susan Guinn-Lahm, an Ajo resident in her 60s. “We’re taking this seriously. They are not.”

Asian giant hornet, which became more active in the state in April, is the world’s largest and can kill humans with multiple stings

• Alarm over deaths of bees from rapidly spreading viral disease
  

Researchers and citizens in Washington state are on a careful hunt for invasive “murder hornets”, after the insect made its first appearance in the US.

The Asian giant hornet is the world’s largest and can kill humans. But it is most dangerous for the European honeybee, which is defenseless in the face of the hornet’s spiky mandibles, long stinger and potent venom.

Workers at ‘most toxic place in America’ are terrified to return to a site where there has been very little protection from the outbreak

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For more than a month, coronavirus has brought cleanup of a 586-square-mile decommissioned nuclear production complex in south-eastern Washington state to a near standstill.

Most of the more than 11,000 employees at the Hanford site were sent home in late March, with only essential workers remaining to make sure the “most toxic place in America” stays safe and secure.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission keen to allow material to be disposed of by ‘land burial’ – with potentially damaging effects

The federal agency providing oversight of the commercial nuclear sector is attempting to push through a rule change critics say could allow dangerous amounts of radioactive material to be disposed of in places like municipal landfills, with potentially serious consequences to human health and the environment.

Related: Coca-Cola and Pepsi falling short on pledges over plastic – report

Canadian Football League Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the most likely scenario is to cancel the season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min finished his three-week military training in South Korea on Friday and was right near the top of the class.

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker complained about being “harassed” and said Friday his family has been “torn apart” after admitting to breaking social-distancing rules again during the coronavirus pandemic.

Which NFL teams have the easiest schedules in 2020?

Which NFL teams have the most difficult 2020 schedules?

While NBA teams are slowly gearing up to return to training facilities this week, the league has reportedly issued a memo prohibiting those with elevated temperatures from participating.  

The Washington Capitals announced Friday that forward Brendan Leipsic was placed on unconditional waivers after his private messages were leaked on social media Wednesday.

The NFL Players Coalition and other athletes and coaches called on the Justice Department and the FBI to launch a federal investigation into the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in a letter Friday.

Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas appears to have reconciled with his wife after reports emerged earlier this week that she held him at gunpoint last month after discovering an alleged affair. 

A woman from Burlington, Ont., says she's had COVID-19 symptoms for nearly two months and hasn't felt entirely supported by health-care workers.

For years, those living and working in nursing and retirement homes across the country have struggled as overburdened caregivers tried to maintain a basic level of care and dignity for aging and ailing Canadians.

The search began after officers found a vehicle overturned in a ditch, partially submerged in knee-deep water.

It's the lowest reported increase in cases since April 6.

Over time, trash that has been floating in the ocean gets covered in algae and other micro-organisms

On a ship frozen in the Arctic, scientists have spent all winter to shed light on exactly how the world is changing

The purpose of such an elaborate structure remains a big open question

These scientists and inventors set out to change the planet with these out-of-the-box ideas

As the pachyderms increasingly clash with farmers and villagers over disappearing land, scientists study the way the animals' minds work

Fed up with invasive species and sterile landscapes, Douglas Tallamy urges Americans to go native and go natural

Deepen your understanding of the natural world with these free resources

The outbreak, and the travel bans and fears that come with it, have endangered long-running research projects

You’ve got questions, we’ve got experts

Yes, most infectious diseases are seasonal. But waiting for COVID-19 to wane on its own is a bad idea

Tasked with curbing a 1907 outbreak, Esther Pohl emphasized the importance of clean, vermin-free environments

Dineobellator was a formidable predator and boasts the battle scars to prove it.

Debate over Earth’s oldest fossils fuels the search for our deepest origins

The different hominid species, possibly including the oldest-known Homo erectus, existed in the region's hills and caves

Researchers suggest that the Humboldt squid uses bioluminescent backlighting for visual cues in the dark deep sea

Fragments of a comet likely hit Earth 12,800 years ago, and a little Paleolithic village in Syria might have suffered the impact

Researchers see promise in recruiting red siskin pet traders as conservation partners

One detects an active infection; another signals that the virus has already left the body. Both are critical for tracking the spread of disease

Fossil teeth uncovered in Peru reveal that an extinct family of primates, thought to have lived only in Africa, made it across the ocean

The Smithsonian's Earth Optimism Summit will now stream online starting this Earth Day; tune in and be inspired

The containment practices of outbreaks past could have lessons for modern epidemics

These letters and journals offer insights on how to record one's thoughts amid a pandemic

Lendbreen, a pass high in the Norwegian mountains, was an important route from the Roman era until the late Middle Ages

You've got questions. We've got experts

The fourth installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

Paleontologists seek the ancestors that could explain how bats became the only flying mammals.