Planting more trees 'one of the best things we can do' to reduce carbon in the air

In this week's issue of our environment newsletter, we examine the climate strikes happening around the world, trees as a carbon capture "technology" and reader suggestions on sustainable living.

Continue to article...

GM fungus 'kills 99% of malaria mosquitoes'

A fungus has been genetically modified with spider venom to kill the mosquitoes that spread malaria.

Continue to article...

Coal and gas are far more harmful than nuclear power – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet

Human-caused climate change and air pollution remain major global-scale problems and are both due mostly to fossil fuel burning. Mitigation efforts for both of these problems should be undertaken concurrently in order to maximize effectiveness. Such efforts can be accomplished largely with currently available low-carbon and carbon-free alternative energy sources like nuclear power and renewables, as well as energy efficiency improvements.

Continue to article...

Barcelona’s radical plan to take back streets from cars

Introducing "superblocks."

Continue to article...

Why Hundreds of Puffins Washed Up Dead on an Alaskan Beach

This latest mass-mortality event is another sign of the Arctic’s rapidly changing climate.

Continue to article...

Sweden’s recycling is so revolutionary the country has run out of rubbish

Sweden’s recycling is so revolutionary, the country has to import rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. What lessons can we learn, asks Hazel Sheffield

Continue to article...

New organic flow battery brings decomposing molecules back to life

After years of making progress on an organic aqueous flow battery, Harvard University researchers ran into a problem: the organic anthraquinone molecules that powered their ground-breaking battery

Continue to article...

Photographer 'overwhelmed' by eagle photo response

Steve Biro snapped the picture of 'Bruce' the bald eagle at a raptor conservation centre in Canada.

Continue to article...

India becomes lowest-cost producer of solar power - ET EnergyWorld

Further, the costs of setting up solar PV projects were found to have dropped at the fastest pace – 80 per cent – in India between 2010 and 2018.

Continue to article...

The Radical Plan to Save the Planet by Working Less

The degrowth movement wants to intentionally shrink the economy to address climate change, and create lives with less stuff, less work, and better well-being. But is it a utopian fantasy?

Continue to article...

The Mysterious Origins of the Eye of the Sahara

The Eye of the Sahara is a unique geological formation in the Western Sahara that began forming hundreds of millions of years ago.

Continue to article...

Complex life may only exist because of millions of years of groundwork by ancient fungi

Newly discovered billion-year-old fossilised fungi are more than twice as old as previous finds, and suggest that fungi may have been preparing Earth's lands for plant life for millions of years.

Continue to article...

Connecticut House passes bill mandating education of human-induced climate change

The Connecticut House on Tuesday passed a bill to make Connecticut the first state to mandate the teaching of human-induced climate change.

Continue to article...

Scientists declare Earth has entered the 'Age of Man'

Humans have ushered in a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene, according to a panel of scientists. Experts have voted to recognise the term and the dawn of the epoch, a vast period of geological time spanning millennia, but it will be several years before the term is fully accepted.

Continue to article...

What an Extinct Bird Re-Evolving Says About “Species”

You may have heard the news of what sounds like a resurrection story on the small island of Aldabra, off the coast of Madagascar. Around 136,000 years ago, the island was submerged in water and a layer of limestone captured the rails—a species of flightless bird—living there. The birds (and all other land species living on the island) went extinct. Recently, though, scientists reported that the bones of these fossilized rails are virtually indistinguishable from rails living on the island today. They are calling this an instance of iterative evolution—where the same species evolves multiple, distinct times.

Continue to article...

Africa calls for climate justice as green wave sweeps Europe

As a wave of public consciousness concerning the environment sweeps across Europe, African cities are hoping this will translate into greater equality when it comes to fighting climate change. One of those people calling for a fairer fight is the mayor of Accra, in Ghana.

Continue to article...

Is Jupiter's Great Red Spot Unraveling?

May 20, 2019: Around the world, amateur astronomers are monitoring a strange phenomenon on the verge of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS). The giant storm appears to be unraveling. “I have…

Continue to article...

33m polluting cars still on EU roads after Dieselgate scandal

Analysis of EU commission figures found diesel cars clean up going at ‘snail’s pace’

Continue to article...

Chernobyl: the wildlife haven created when people left

Rare and endangered animals have thrived in the Chernobyl disaster zone since it was evacuated in 1986, as a new wildlife tour in southern Belarus shows

Continue to article...

'Blatant Attempt to Politicize the Science': Trump Reportedly Moving to End Long-Term Studies of Climate Crisis

In what environmental experts warned could be President Donald Trump's most dangerous assault on science yet, the White House is reportedly moving to end long-term assessments of the impacts of the climate crisis while pushing a polluter-friendly agenda that is making the planetary emergency worse.

Continue to article...

Nuclear power decline ‘would lead to increased emissions’: IEA

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the decline of nuclear power in advanced economic countries would lead to an additional four billion tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2040. The warning comes in the group’s report ‘Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System’, published 28 May. There is currently 422GW of nuclear power installed in the world, making it the second-largest source of low carbon energy in the world.

Continue to article...

These scientists are setting a forest on fire — and studying it with drones

Data from the blaze in Utah could improve models of how wildfire smoke spreads.

Continue to article...

2,300-Year-Old Bark Shield Showcases a Previously Unknown Iron Age Technology

A one-of-a-kind bark shield dating back to the Iron Age has been unearthed in England. Archaeologists have never seen anything like it, describing the artifact as “lost technology.” The bark shield was discovered four years ago in what was once a livestock watering hole, according to a release issued by the University of York. Normally, items made from organic materials, such as bark, don’t preserve well, but in this case, the moist, soggy conditions prevented the shield from degrading.

Continue to article...

A 500-million-year survey of Earth's climate reveals dire warning for humanity

Paleobotanist Scott Wing stands in wintry Wyoming badlands, where alligators swam 56 million years ago.

Continue to article...

'Virgin birth': A captive anaconda became pregnant by herself and gave birth to two babies

A female anaconda living in an all-female exhibit gave birth to two babies without sexually reproducing with a male snake, a Massachusetts aquarium recently announced. The 10-foot-long, 30 pound mother — named Anna — gave birth to two babies that appear to be genetically identical to their mother, the New England Aquarium said, citing DNA testing. Anna has never been exposed to an adult male snake, the aquarium said.

Continue to article...

How Trump Could Make the Extinction Crisis Even Worse

Despite an alarming UN report that warns one million plant and animal species face extinction due to human activity, the Trump administration is poised to hasten species on their path to extinction by eroding critical wildlife protections. The UN’s landmark 1,500-page study, announced this week, warns that if we continue to destroy natural landscapes at rates “unprecedented in human history,” massive biodiversity loss will undermine food security, access to clean water, and sources of modern medicine by 2050.

Continue to article...

Historic U.S. Bill To Clean Up Recycling At The Bin And Save Billions

In a landmark move, a national recycling strategy is to be launched across the U.S., aiming to streamline recycling bin labels and, in so doing, give the market a desperately needed overhaul.

Continue to article...

New US recycling bill to reduce waste and save billions of dollars

The goal of what is being called an historic US recycling bill, is to streamline recycling bin labels and overhaul the market to prevent recyclable materials from ending up in landfills.

Continue to article...

We Can't Solve Climate Change Without Nuclear Power

Sixty-five years ago, President Eisenhower took the first concrete steps toward implementing his “Atoms for Peace” initiative, presenting Soviet leaders with a detailed outline of the safety and nonproliferation rules that should guide the peaceful development of civilian nuclear energy. Three more years of determined U.S.-led diplomacy culminated in the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which continues to be pivotal in maintaining, monitoring and...

Continue to article...

First You Make the Maps

How cartography made early modern global trade possible.

Continue to article...

The Earth’s magnetic north pole is shifting rapidly – so what will happen to the northern lights?

As the Earth's magnetic north pole heads towards Siberia, concerns have been raised that the northern lights could move with it.

Continue to article...

Egypt plans to plant 100 million olive trees by 2022

Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation has recently announced its ambitious plan to plant 100 million olive trees by 2022 by offering many land plots to investors. Though Egypt is the world's second-largest exporter of table olives, the government is now fighting tooth and nail to boost the olive oil production, considering that Egypt is a major importer of olive oil.

Continue to article...

Meanwhile, in ancient Egypt

Continue to article...

The alarming trend of beached whales filled with plastic, explained

Another dead whale has washed ashore with a belly full of plastic. This week, the carcass of the young sperm whale, estimated to have been 7 years old, was found on a beach in Cefalù, Italy. Investigators aren’t certain whether the plastic killed the whale. But it’s part of a gruesome pattern that’s become impossible to ignore. In April, a pregnant sperm whale washed up on a beach in Sardinia with nearly 50 pounds’ worth of plastic bags, containers, and tubing in her stomach.

Continue to article...

Dude, Where’s My Frontal Cortex? - Issue 72: Quandary - Nautilus

There’s a method to the madness of the teenage brain. In the foothills of the Sierra Mountains, a few hours east of San Francisco, are the Moaning Caverns, a cave system that begins, after a narrow, twisting descent of 30-some feet, with an abrupt 180-foot drop. The Park Service has found ancient human skeletons at the bottom of the drop. Native Americans living there at the time didn’t make human sacrifices. Instead, these explorers took one step too far in the gloom. The skeletons belonged to adolescents.

Continue to article...

4 US States Scoring Under-the-Radar Clean Energy Wins

In the United States, the falling cost of renewable energy means the economic case for investing in renewables is stronger than ever before. Across the country, from South Carolina to Nevada, states are taking new measures to harness wind and solar power. Since January, more than 10 state legislatures have enacted policies that encourage new renewable energy development.

Continue to article...

School climate strikes expected to be largest yet – as it happened (Live Updates)

Students around the world are walking out of lessons to demand politicians take urgent action on climate change.

Continue to article...

We have less time than you think to jump-start climate action

On Friday, countless young people will flood the streets of the world's major cities, demanding action to tackle climate change. The global movement stems from the stark reality that the window to addressing this emergency is closing. At the front of these demonstrations, there is frequently a banner warning that there are just "12 years to save the Earth."

Continue to article...

Climate change profoundly alters plankton populations

New research using sediment cores suggests human-driven climate change is having a significant impact on the composition of the world’s marine plankton. A German study, published in the journal Nature, reveals that modern communities of foraminifera, a type of hard-shelled plankton, differ markedly from those from the pre-industrial era, which began just 170 years ago.

Continue to article...

The most sustainable phone is the one you already own

A phone’s biggest environmental impact comes from the manufacturing process. That’s why – whether it’s a Fairphone or something else – the most sustainable phone available is the one you already own. So the longer you keep it, the more sustainable it becomes. Extending the lifespan of existing phones is the best strategy for reducing their impact on the planet. And it’s not only good for the earth – it’s easy on your wallet, too!

Continue to article...

Solomon Islanders imprisoned for trying to stop the logging of their forests

Sitting in a primary school classroom that had become his makeshift home in the Solomon Islands’ capital of Honiara, self-appointed forest ranger Titus Godfrey Meoblir told Mongabay how he and four others had wound up in the state jail for six months after they were accused of burning logging machines on their home island of Nende. It was just over a month since he had been released on bail in December.

Continue to article...

Cargo ships are the world’s worst polluters, so how can they be made to go green?

Every day the clothes, tech and toys that fill the shelves in our shopping centres seem to arrive there by magic. In fact, about nine out of 10 items are shipped halfway around the world on board some of the biggest and dirtiest machines on the planet. It has been estimated that just one of these container ships, the length of around six football pitches, can produce the same amount of pollution as 50 million cars.

Continue to article...

Plankton Haven’t Been the Same Since the Industrial Revolution

Changes in plankton populations over the past centuries correlate with rising sea temperatures

Continue to article...

Geologists Discover Largest Underwater Volcano, Explain Weird Hum Heard Around the World

A strange seismic event off the coast of Africa has led scientists to a mighty finding: the discovery of the largest underwater volcanic eruption ever recorded. The eruption also may explain a weird seismic event recorded in November 2018 just off the island of Mayotte, located between Madagascar and Mozambique in the Indian Ocean. Researchers described that event as a seismic hum that circled the world, but no one could figure out what sparked it.

Continue to article...

Republicans aren’t just climate deniers. They deny the extinction crisis, too

Maybe you’ve read King Lear and remember this famous line: “‘Tis the time’s plague when madmen lead the blind.” The words were written more than 400 years ago as a comment on the deadly consequences of greed, delusion and political folly, but they could serve just as well as a Republican party slogan today. They’re a fitting description of the Republican party’s delusional campaign to deny the environmental crises that threaten our planet and our civilization.

Continue to article...

Healthy dog put down to be buried with owner

A dog owner in America had her healthy pet put down and cremated to be buried with her when she died, according to US reports. Emma, a shih tzu mix, was put down and cremated, despite efforts of an animal shelter to stop it happening. Workers at the shelter in Virginia reportedly spent two weeks trying to convince people close to the dead woman not to carry out her last wishes.

Continue to article...

These tiny, mysterious fish may be key to solving coral reef ‘paradox’

If a snorkeler or scuba diver is lucky enough to spy a cryptobenthic fish—named for its elusive nature—all they may glimpse is a brief flash of color. But these tiny swimmers may be a cornerstone of coral reefs, making it possible for bigger, more charismatic fish and many invertebrates to thrive, according to a new study. And they could help solve a mystery that stumped even the father of evolution, Charles Darwin.

Continue to article...

Canada's garbage to be removed from the Philippines by end of June

A shipment of illegal garbage that ended up in the Philippines nearly six years ago will be returned to Canada by the end of June 2019.

Continue to article...

Geology Makes You Time-Literate

A scientist tells us how her field instills timefulness. By Marcia Bjornerud.

Continue to article...

China is shredding the ozone layer with banned chemical emissions, study says

Some alarming news from the stratosphere. Chinese foam manufacturers are releasing an ozone-destroying chemical into the air that goes against an international agreement meant to fix the ozone layer, scientists announced in a study Wednesday. The chemical is a chlorofluorocarbon known as trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11), which the world agreed to phase out starting in 2010. But just in the past six years, emissions of CFC-11 have increased by around 7,000 tons each year, and the source is eastern China, the study suggests.

Continue to article...