Category Archives: News

Green farming policies may be speeding up biodiversity loss

Farming to help preserve nature, such as rewilding and organic schemes, may be worsening the biodiversity crisis, according to leading academics. In an article published on 21 June, Professor Ian Bateman of the University of Exeter and Professor Andrew Balmford of the University of Cambridge said that rewilding and organic and ‘nature-friendly farming’ measures included […]

Cornwall beaches give clues to global climate change impact

A study of fossilised beaches in Cornwall and other parts of Europe has given “important clues” on how climate change will impact the globe. Scientists from the UK, USA and Canada said they were able to demonstrate for the first time how melting Antarctic ice sheets had an impact on global sea levels in the […]

Chris Witty: Air fresheners and wood burners are air pollution risk

Air fresheners and wood burners contribute to air pollution despite many people believing the reverse to be true, Sir Chris Whitty has said. The Chief Medical Officer for England told MPs he would have “no problem” telling someone with an asthmatic child not to use air freshener. He also said people who use wood burners should only do so “when it really matters […]

Honeybees found to be less effective pollinators than native species

A pair of ecologists with the University of California has found that honeybees are not as good at pollinating flowers as native pollinators. In their study, reported in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Dillon Travis and Joshua Kohn obtained samples of pollinated flowers in the wild and compared them to see how well they […]

The Indian Ocean’s heat is having effects on land, too. NOAA Coral Reef Watch Ocean heat is off the charts – here’s what that means for humans and ecosystems around the world

Ocean temperatures have been off the charts since mid-March 2023, with the highest average levels in 40 years of satellite monitoring, and the impact is breaking through in disruptive ways around the world. Read more via The Conversation.

Brentford only Premier League club to make top 10 of sustainability report

Brentford are the only Premier League team to have made the top 10 in a report assessing the country’s most sustainably-run clubs in the top four professional divisions. This Index looks at all 92 clubs who were in the Premier League and the EFL last season, rating the performance of each on a weighted scoring system based on […]

Nuclear fusion breakthrough: UK at ‘forefront of new frontier’ for clean energy holy grail

The UK is at the forefront of a new energy “frontier” as it prepares to create the world’s first nuclear fusion-powered plant, a senior official has claimed. The world’s first compact nuclear reactor is set to be operational by 2040, scientists at UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) say. Read more via Express.

Ocean heat record broken, with grim implications for the planet

The oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change, with dire implications for our planet’s health. The average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record this week, according to the EU’s climate change service Copernicus. It reached 20.96C (69.73F) – far above the average for […]

Into the unknown: NASA space laser provides answers to a rainforest canopy mystery

We know less about the rainforest canopy, where most of the world’s species live than we do about the surface of Mars or the bottom of the ocean. However, that is about to change thanks to GEDI—a NASA space laser that has provided a detailed structure of the world’s rainforests for the first time ever. […]

Government planting less than half its target of trees, say MPs

The Government is planting less than half of its annual target of trees, raising concerns about how it will meet its nature recovery and timber construction goals, MPs have said. The Environmental Audit Committee said it welcomes the Government’s targets but that it is “very unlikely” it will meet them, with only two autumn-spring planting seasons left before a […]