Climate change, ecology, nature, environment, eco-friendly politics, non-profit projects, human rights, preservation, wildlife... all that we care about.
Although the Mediterranean sea covers only one per cent of the world’s marine areas, it contains some six per cent of its marine species. Some of the world’s most endangered species, can be found in the Mediterranean. Fish stocks are down to 20 per cent of natural levels in some areas and the Mediterranean is [...]
A study in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology – aka Satan’s Bible – is providing insight into how different species react to environmental contamination.
Scientists studying the effects of the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine on local populations of insects, birds and mammals have found that species’ success in terms [...]
We’ve all got to worry about our environment, even refugees. Actually, especially refugees: they often live in squalid conditions with poor sanitation and lack basic resources.
Environmental engineers at the University of Weimar in Germany are working on a solution to sewage problems at refugee camps by converting it into something else they need: fuel.
No shit? [...]
You might think you can do a better job than the UK government at cutting CO2, becoming more energy efficient and deciding how Britain should move towards a low carbon economy.
Well the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change let’s you try it out – in a computer simulation, of course.
The Independent’s environment editor loves [...]
Since the environment and appearing to be green are increasingly in vogue, yet consumerism is more rampant than ever, a curious corporate, consumer and governmental culture is emerging.
It’s the culture of ‘lets not and say we did’.
For example, let’s go on about cutting emissions, but then expand offshore drilling. Or let’s make our corporate logo [...]
Tony Oposa is an environmental lawyer who campaigns to protect the seas around Bantayan Island in the province of Cebu, Philippines. He is also on the board of trustees at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in Washington, DC.
Oposa is fighting illegal fishing such as fishing using dynamite, which threatens the marine ecology of [...]
By now many of you have probably heard of ‘greenwashing’, the practice by which businesses or organizations present an environmentally friendly image without backing it up with concrete green credentials. BP’s green flower logo and ‘Beyond Petroleum’ slogan are blatant examples of greenwashing. Perhaps even more bewildering and maddening is the fact that the production [...]
Butterflies in the UK are on the decline due to human activity and now the British public is being urged to participate in a nationwide survey called The Big Butterfly Count.
During Save Our Butterflies Week – July 24th to August 1st – residents of the UK are asked to take 15 minutes to go out [...]
The Economist recently featured an interview with ‘green economist’ Pavan Sukhdev on their regular segment ‘Tea with The Economist’.
Pavan Sukhdev is a study leader for The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity study (TEEB), a report commissioned by the G8+5 and funded by the European Union. He is special advisor and head of the UN Environment [...]
The Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, has founded an international project against ecological disaster, the International Sustainability Unit.
Prince Charles has long been involved in environmental issues and warned last year that there were less than 100 months left to avoid irreversible damage due to climate change.
The unit aims to address the depletion [...]
Due in part to the popularity of the environmental documentary film Gasland, the practice of natural gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing, alternately known as ‘fracking’ or ‘fracing’, has been the subject of much debate.
The process of hydraulic fracturing involves drilling into shale reservoirs and creating fractures by pumping in water. The principle environmental concerns regarding [...]
Gasland is a documentary film written and directed by Josh Fox which explores the practice of hydraulic fracturing, a widespread method used in drilling for natural gas in the United States.
Hydraulic fracturing, often referred to as ‘fracking’ (yes, like in Battlestar Galactica), fractures rock in order to get at natural gas deposits in shale reservoirs. [...]
How many of you have an outdoor garden? Okay, and how many of you use Roundup weed killer?
Although Roundup has a reputation of being one of the top weed killers on the market and much safer than other chemical alternatives, there are still some stubborn weeds out there that are resistant to Roundup and [...]
In the 70s and 80s acid rain received lots of attention for being a scourge upon forests and freshwater lakes and streams, poisoning aquatic life, insects and humans as well as corroding monuments and buildings in urban areas.
Acid rain never went away, but its levels changed and its sources shifted. You see, acid rain is [...]
UNCIVILISATION – aka the Dark Mountain Festival – took place over the last weekend in May at Llangollen, a small town in northwest Wales on the edge of the Berwyn Mountains. I’ve written a couple of times about the polemical Dark Mountain Project, a post-environmentalist movement that has given up on mainstream environmentalism, activism and [...]
Last week Queensland Alumina Limited was fined $90 thousand Australian (78k USD/63k euros) for an industrial incident that released caustic vapors within 6 km of their Gladstone alumina refinery last year. The company pleaded guilty to the charge of causing serious environmental harm.
According to a report by ABC News Australia, the main section of the [...]
Haulage, or the commercial transport of goods by road, aka road freight, is a little discussed, but important environmental issue. The environmental impact of haulage is considered to be significantly higher than freight by rail or sea, due to its heavy production of pollution and greenhouse gasses. The damage and congestion inflicted upon roads is [...]
A UN report entitled ‘Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production’, released Wednesday, states that eating less meat and dairy is necessary to avoid catastrophic effects of climate change, global hunger and energy shortages.
From an article in the Guardian:
As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for [...]
There is something that happens in many rural areas around the globe. It’s a fairly common thing and it can also be a fairly dangerous thing, both to your health and to the environment. What am I referring to? Backyard Trash Burning.
Yes, in many rural areas—small towns or out in the country—people will burn their [...]
Journalist Johann Hari is once again on the attack against the ties that bind environmental groups and big polluting corporations. (It’s all about money, in case you didn’t know).
In a recent article for the Independent, Hari treads similar ground as he did in his piece for The Nation entitled ‘The Wrong Kind of Green’. Hari [...]
The Tory/Lib Dem coalition government has already announced agreements concerning its environmental policies. These include building a smart grid and initiating a high-speed rail network, scrapping plans to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and moving ahead with feed-in tariff systems.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats still disagree on the nuclear power issue, with the [...]
Ecocide is relatively new word used to describe a practice that results in large-scale environmental damage or destruction. It is, in short, the murder of the environment.
Environmental lawyer Polly Higgins is campaigning the UN to have ecocide be considered an international crime against peace, similar to genocide and other crimes against humanity.
Higgins is quoted in [...]
The Greendex survey is an annual study that measures consumption in terms of environmental impact among consumers from a sample of countries in both the developed and developing world.
Conducted by National Geographic and the polling firm GlobeScan, Greendex’s chief goal is to gauge the impact of consumer behavior within the energy, transportation, travel and consumer [...]
Here is an extra clip from Age of Stupid director Franny Armstrong’s The Stupid Show in which young citizens of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates are interviewed about environmental attitudes in their country.
This could easily just be seen as a typical ‘laugh at the rich kids’ bit of reality TV. There is nothing exclusively [...]
A new major environmental book, entitled Silent Summer: The State of Wildlife in Britain and Ireland, offers up disturbing facts and figures about the human impact on nature in the British Isles. Celebrated naturalist, broadcaster and national treasure Sir David Attenborough has penned the forward to the book, a collaborative effort by 40 UK ecologists, [...]
In terms of development and environment, global capitalism can be compared to a dinner where a rich few eat all the food and leave the bill with their poor, unwilling hosts after tossing a stingy tip and some dinner notes onto the table.
The colonized, indigenous and poorest peoples of the world are the ones who [...]
Morocco’s farmers face soil degradation, air and water pollution and a changing climate. The North African nation’s coastal waters suffer from overfishing and contamination, which has negatively affected the local fishing industry. But Morocco also cherishes its environment and is making efforts to protect it.
For the first time ever, major Earth Day celebrations are happening [...]
Bolivia has been hosting an international summit, named the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, in the city of Cochabamba. The talks began on the 19th and finish today.
From a report by the Environmental News Service:
More than 20,000 indigenous, environmental and civil society delegates from 129 countries were in [...]
Last year Tim Nicholson took his former employer to court for unfair dismissal due to his environmental beliefs under the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003.
Nicholson worked as Head of Sustainability at residential property landlord Grainger plc, where he claims he was made redundant after questioning the environmental practices of the company – a [...]
The World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth begins on Monday, April 19th in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The summit, which is not under the auspices of the UN, is seen as the alternative to Copenhagen, with more of a focus on poor peoples, social justice and environmental activism.
In addition to scientists, [...]
