All our downloadable articles are laid out in this table. You can search by category quite simply by liking on your choice in the “category” column.
| ID | Title | Summary | Image | Author | Date | Categories | Link | hf:doc_author | hf:doc_categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2862 | Consumerism and the climate crisis threaten equitable future for humanity | The Earth Commission says hope lies in sustainable lifestyles, a radical transformation of global politics and fair distribution of resources All of humanity could share a prosperous, equitable future but the space for development is rapidly shrinking under pressure from a wealthy minority of ultra-consumers, a groundbreaking study has shown. Growing environmental degradation and climate instability have pushed the Earth beyond a series of safe planetary boundaries, say the authors from the Earth Commission, but … |  | Jonathan Watts | 12 September 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Education, Global Warming, Science, Sustainability | jonathan-watts | all-categories conservation education global-warming science sustainability | |
| 2872 | Gulf Stream collapse would throw tropical monsoons into chaos for at least 100 years | The Gulf Stream is part of a wider system of currents in the Atlantic (the AMOC). If the AMOC collapses the Amazon will dry out. This will be a planetary catastrophe. Our fastest gain in terms of stopping global warming is eliminating methane production from fossil fuels, waste and agriculture. It is critically urgent. Earth and Leaf. |  | Sascha Pare | 11 September 2024 | All Categories, Environment, Global Warming, Sustainability | sascha-pare | all-categories environment global-warming sustainability | |
| 2785 | The meadow mutiny | The meadow mutiny: why a rewilding scheme sparked a residents’ revolt A council in Derbyshire decided to let grass grow wild – and a group of vigilante mowers fought back. What can be done to make sure essential environmental schemes get the local support they need? Earth and Leaf editorial Oh dear. The dog poo and litter comes from their community. Worry about ticks is ill founded, but a handy excuse. We tidy up too … |  | Kate MCusker | 10 September 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics, Education, Environment, Sustainability | kate-mcusker | all-categories conservation economics education environment sustainability | |
| 2783 | Has a UC Berkeley chemistry lab discovered the holy grail of plastic recycling? | Despite the planet’s growing plastic pollution crisis, petroleum-based polymers have become an integral part of modern life. They make cars and airplanes lighter and more energy efficient. They constitute a core material of modern medicine by helping to keep equipment sterile, deliver medicines and build prosthetics, among many other things. And they are a critical component of the wiring and hardware that underlies our technology-driven civilization. The trouble is, when they outlive their usefulness, they … |  | Susanne Rust | 3 September 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics, Education, Environment | susanne-rust | all-categories conservation economics education environment | |
| 2756 | What is degrowth and can it save the planet? | ‘These ideas are incredibly popular’: what is degrowth and can it save the planet? The post-growth movement says GDP is the wrong way to measure progress and we need a radical economic rewiring In the run-up to the UK general election, the Labour party’s central offer to the public was a “laser-like” focus on economic growth. Its leader, Keir Starmer, promised to “take the brakes off Britain” and repeatedly said “ensuring economic growth will be … |  | Matthew Taylor | 3 September 2024 | All Categories, Economics, Energy, Sustainability | matthew-taylor | all-categories economics energy sustainability | |
| 2758 | Australia’s climate is entering a different phase | Heavy winds struck south-east Australia over the weekend as a series of cold fronts moved across the continent. It followed a high fire danger in Sydney and other parts of New South Wales last week, and a fire in south-west Sydney that threatened homes. The severe weather rounds out a weird winter across Australia. The nation’s hottest ever winter temperature was recorded when Yampi Sound in Western Australia reached 41.6C on Tuesday. Elsewhere across Australia, … |  | David Bowman | 2 September 2024 | All Categories, Education, Environment, Global Warming, Science, Sustainability | david-bowman | all-categories education environment global-warming science sustainability | |
| 2762 | Is ultra cheap green hydrogen on the horizon? | Is ultra cheap green hydrogen on the horizon? Hydrogen produced by splitting water with renewable energy is too expensive to take off, but a start-up hopes to bring down the cost with new electrolysers Hydrogen is often described as the champagne of green energy – scarce and expensive, to be deployed only on special occasions. But there are huge swathes of the global economy that will need hydrogen fuel in order to decarbonise, from aviation … |  | Madeleine Cuff | 28 August 2024 | All Categories, Economics, Education, Energy, Global Warming, Science, Sustainability | madeleine-cuff | all-categories economics education energy global-warming science sustainability | |
| 2650 | Why are we obsessed with just five types of fish? | In Britain, we’re creatures of habit when it comes to seafood. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) reports that 80 percent of all seafood sold in the UK comprises just five varieties: salmon, cod, haddock, prawns and tuna. Experts say there are benefits to be gained from casting a wider net when shopping for fish and other seafood, both for our health and the environment. |  | Sue Quinn | 23 August 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics, Education, Energy, Environment, Fishing, Food | sue-quinn | all-categories conservation economics education energy environment fishing food | |
| 2644 | Facing up to accelerating exploitation of oceans | Termed the “blue acceleration”, the rapid increase in human activity and resource extraction from the world’s oceans in recent decades highlights the growing pressure we’re placing on marine ecosystems. Irish science journalist Olive Heffernan has tackled the topic in her first book, The High Seas — Ambition, Greed, and Power on the Unclaimed Ocean, and looked at how the rapid pace of development in the ocean raises immense concerns about the long-term health of marine … |  | Conor Purcell | 22 August 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics, Education, Energy, Environment, Fishing, Food, Science, Sustainability | conor-purcell | all-categories conservation economics education energy environment fishing food science sustainability | |
| 2641 | Irish leaders need to start being honest about livestock’s long shadow and our unsustainable diets | Irish leaders need to start being honest about livestock’s long shadow and our unsustainable diets Meat and dairy provides only 13% of calories globally but are responsible for nearly 85% of greenhouse gas emissions linked with food production. Isn’t it time then to start talking about sustainable food systems and to get our public health agencies to actively promote sustainable diets? Iain Dunn addition below: This statement is at the heart of our mission to … |  | Sadhbh O'Neill | 22 August 2024 | All Categories, Education, Energy, Environment, Farming, Food, Global Warming, Science, Sustainability | sadhbh-oneill | all-categories education energy environment farming food global-warming science sustainability | |
| 2637 | Impact of food production must inform climate policy | Your editorial on nature-friendly farming (12 August) rightly points out that a reduction in meat and dairy consumption is the most effective way to provide food security while protecting nature and biodiversity, and curbing emissions. There’s ample evidence that more food can be produced on less land if crops feed people directly, rather than farmed animals. What’s missing so far is the necessary leadership to effect change. The Conservative government failed to take up the … |  | Linda Newbery, Richard Harvey | 19 August 2024 | All Categories, Economics, Education, Energy, Farming, Food, Science, Sustainability | linda-newbery richard-harvey | all-categories economics education energy farming food science sustainability | |
| 2625 | Think we don’t have a choice when it comes to saving the planet? Think again | Think we don’t have a choice when it comes to saving the planet? Think again Climate change is increasingly causing global disruption. Human beings naturally seek certainty and modern societies have long taken for granted the relative certainties of the weather. That assumption underpins everything, from insurance, to food security, to global trade, to mass tourism. |  | Lord Deben | 18 August 2024 | All Categories, Economics, Education, Environment, Global Warming, Science, Sustainability | lord-deben | all-categories economics education environment global-warming science sustainability | |
| 2621 | Education in the Anthropocene addressing the environmental crisis means learning about our place in Earth’s history | Education should prepare young people to face the challenges of their time. To keep up with the changing world, this means that education has to keep adjusting. But unfortunately, our education systems have fallen out of sync with the times. Environmental decay is arguably the greatest challenge facing humanity today. However, education systems are failing to prepare young people for life on a rapidly changing planet. One way to escape this trap is to shift … |  | Peter Sutoris | 14 August 2024 | All Categories, Education, Environment, Global Warming, Science, Sustainability | peter-sutoris | all-categories education environment global-warming science sustainability | |
| 2628 | No red grouse to shoot at on Inglorious 12th? Grouse moor owners releasing non-native red-legged partridge as alternative quarry | No red grouse to shoot at on Inglorious 12th? Grouse moor owners releasing non-native red-legged partridge as alternative quarry Today marks the opening of the red grouse shooting season (the Inglorious 12th) and the media is full of ‘woe is us’ stories from the grouse shooting industry claiming that the lack of grouse available to shoot this year (largely down to climate breakdown) will result in the annihilation of the rural economy. (It won’t). Strangely, the … |  | RaptorPersecutionUK | 12 August 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Hill Farming, Sheep, Sustainability | raptorpersecutionuk | all-categories conservation environment farming hill-farming sheep sustainability | |
| 2593 | Losing Noah’s Ark | As the evening sky turns violet, the animals of the Pantanal gather near the water. Capybaras swim in tight formation, roseate spoonbills add smudges of pink to the riverbanks, the rumble of a jaguar pulsates from the forest. This tropical wetland is the largest on Earth, stretching across Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, and playing host to some of the greatest gatherings of animals anywhere. Now, scientists say the survival of the entire biome is at … |  | Harriet Barber | 12 August 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Education, Environment, Farming, Sustainability | harriet-barber | all-categories conservation education environment farming sustainability | |
| 2558 | Biomass power station produced four times emissions of UK coal plant, says report | The Drax power station was responsible for four times more carbon emissions than the UK’s last remaining coal-fired plant last year, despite taking more than £0.5bn in clean-energy subsidies in 2023, according to a report. The North Yorkshire power plant, which burns wood pellets imported from North America to generate electricity, was revealed as Britain’s single largest carbon emitter in 2023 by a report from the climate thinktank Ember. The figures show that Drax, which … |  | Jillian Ambrose | 9 August 2024 | All Categories, Economics, Energy, Environment, Fuel, Global Warming, Greenwashing | jillian-ambrose | all-categories economics energy environment fuel global-warming greenwashing | |
| 2499 | Landmark new research shows how global warming is messing with our rainfall | The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. The findings, by Chinese researchers and the UK Met Office, were published overnight in the journal Science. They provide the first systematic observational evidence that climate change is making global rainfall patterns more volatile. The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% … |  | Anna Ukkola, Steven Sherwood | 28 July 2024 | All Categories, Education, Environment, Global Warming, Science | anna-ukkola steven-sherwood | all-categories education environment global-warming science | |
| 2488 | Why culled deer carcasses in Scotland should be left to rot, according to experts | This is close to my heart. I have been saying this for years. It will help scavengers, farmers and invertebrates. Iain Dunn. Extract below: Hundreds of thousands of kilos of vital nutrients are removed every year when deer carcasses are lifted off the hill, ecologists have said. In Scotland, deer populations have been actively managed since 1959, primarily to control over browsing. Currently, all four wild deer species present in Scotland – red deer, roe deer, fallow deer and sika deer – are considered … |  | Katharine Hay | 26 July 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Education, Hill Farming, Science, Shepherds of the Trees | katharine-hay | all-categories conservation education hill-farming science shepherds-of-the-trees farming | |
| 2455 | Monday was the warmest day recorded on Earth | Our poor cool wet summer doesn’t mean that the climate change deniers are right. Far far from it, we must not be complacent. Extract below: In the past week, Earth’s record for the hottest day was broken twice. Sunday July 21 was declared Earth’s hottest day since records began, when average surface temperature reached 17.09°C. On Monday the record fell again, when average temperatures reached 17.16°C – and Tuesday was almost as hot. |  | Andrew King | 25 July 2024 | All Categories, Economics, Education, Global Warming, Science | andrew-king | all-categories economics education global-warming science | |
| 2459 | Siamese crocodile hatchlings a ‘promising sign’ in Cambodia, but greater protection needed | Siamese crocodile hatchlings a ‘promising sign’ in Cambodia, but greater protection needed. Extract below: KOH KONG, Cambodia — The recent discovery of 60 Siamese crocodile hatchlings in the southwest of Cambodia has sparked hope among conservationists, with the five successful nests highlighting the resilience of the critically endangered species in the wild. Deep within the remote Cardamom Mountains, 60 eggs were found to have successfully hatched — a discovery that Pablo Sinovas, Fauna & Flora … |  | Gerald Flynn | 24 July 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Education, Environment | gerald-flynn | all-categories conservation education environment | |
| 2453 | We must help our farmers transition to a sustainable future | This is absolutely critical. This is what Earth and Leaf is all about. Extract below: We must help our farmers transition to a sustainable future. The Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) will be one of the biggest changes impacting Welsh agriculture in generations. Scheme design and an adequate multi-annual budget will be fundamental to its success. |  | Arfon Williams | 23 July 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics, Farming, Food, Shepherds of the Trees | arfon-williams | all-categories conservation economics farming food shepherds-of-the-trees energy | |
| 2451 | Oxygen discovery defies knowledge of the deep ocean | We really must mess up again and deep ocean mining might be just that. Extract below: Scientists have discovered “dark oxygen” being produced in the deep ocean, apparently by lumps of metal on the seafloor. About half the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean. But, before this discovery, it was understood that it was made by marine plants photosynthesising – something that requires sunlight. |  | Victoria Gill | 22 July 2024 | All Categories, Energy, Environment, Science | victoria-gill | all-categories energy environment science education | |
| 2468 | River is better than ever after farmer John Price’s work | What John Price has done seems anecdotally to have reduced flooding in the village. In actual fact he has destroyed habitat and will have worsened flooding further downstream. He has also interfered with property, the river, which is not his. He is simply the Riparian owner. This whole situation could have been easily avoided with subtle expert intervention and better communication. Extract below: River is better than ever after farmer John Price’s work. Kingsland … |  | Charlotte Moreau | 20 July 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Sustainability | charlotte-moreau | all-categories conservation environment farming sustainability | |
| 2465 | Labour has left farmers facing agriculture budget ‘cliff edge’, says NFU | Extract below: Farmers are facing a “cliff edge” as the Labour government refuses to commit to maintaining the agriculture budget for England, the president of the National Farmers’ Union has said. |  | Helena Horton | 18 July 2024 | All Categories, Economics, Farming, Food | helena-horton | all-categories economics farming food energy | |
| 2398 | Most homes will need heat pumps | Heat pumps will need to be installed in the vast majority of Welsh homes to meet climate targets, the Welsh government has said. However, the government’s new heat strategy stops short of saying if or when oil and gas boilers will be banned, acknowledging the switch was still “beyond the means” of many. It said it would focus on making it easier to opt for the greener tech with financial incentives and changes to planning … |  | Steffan Messenger | 15 July 2024 | All Categories, Economics, Energy, Fuel | steffan-messenger | all-categories economics energy fuel | |
| 2418 | Could people turn Mars into another Earth? | There’s some good stuff on The Conversation website. This is pure fantasy, but it demonstrates just how precious is our world. You know the one. The one we don’t look after. Could people turn Mars into another Earth? Here’s what it would take to transform its barren landscape into a life-friendly world. | Sven Bilen | 15 July 2024 | All Categories, Science, Science Fiction | sven-bilen | all-categories science science-fiction education | ||
| 2375 | How the infamous Pitcairn Island became a model of ocean conservation | This is Pitcairn, one of the remotest inhabited islands in the world and part of a British overseas territory. I am here to find out how this isolated community is aiming to put its dark past behind it and reinvent itself as a paradigm of ocean conservation – and also if there are lessons to be learned more generally about how to protect marine biodiversity. But as always on this precarious outpost, there are squalls … |  | Graham Lawton | 9 July 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Education, Sustainability | graham-lawton | all-categories conservation education sustainability | |
| 2307 | The UK’s rivers are riddled with sewage pollution – new wetlands could help clean them up | As effluent from sewage works and agricultural pollution flow freely into rivers, researchers and local citizens are urgently seeking to clean up the UK’s waterways. New wildlife-rich wetlands could be an answer. |  | Shaoni Bhattacharya | 5 July 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Sustainability | shaoni-bhattacharya | all-categories conservation environment sustainability | |
| 2359 | The truth about rewilding, by seven of Britain’s most influential farmers, landowners and conservationists | Although the term ‘rewilding’ is contentious, most agree that our countryside could be better managed for wildlife. Yet what should we actually be doing to improve it? ‘The idea that we can carry on what we’ve been doing for the past couple of centuries, which is the war against Nature, is over,’ declares Prof Sir Dieter Helm, professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, who believes that the damage wreaked can be reversed … |  | Julie Harding | 4 July 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Energy, Food, Sustainability | julie-harding | all-categories conservation energy food sustainability | |
| 2251 | Elon Musk could avert global species extinction | Only a portion of Elon Musk’s wealth could halt over half of global species extinction. The most vulnerable countries are Madagascar, Colombia, Philippines, Brazil and Indonesia. |  | Liz Kimbrough | 25 June 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics | liz-kimbrough | all-categories conservation economics | |
| 2253 | Scottish farmers damn wild beaver reintroduction policy | Farmers and landowners or managers should be involved in policy decisions. Farmers role in our environment must be redefined and then they must be acknowledged and compensated appropriately. |  | AFP | 19 June 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics, Farming | afp | all-categories conservation economics farming | |
| 2324 | This Ecuadorian forest thrived amid deforestation after being granted legal rights | For more than 30 years, José DeCoux woke each morning to a deafening noise. In his home in Ecuador’s Los Cedros forest, monkeys squeal, squirrels scuffle, and 400 species of bird flit and squawk. A mist hangs in the trees, and ferns and mosses in countless shades of green cover every rock and tree trunk. DeCoux moved to the Los Cedros reserve in northern Ecuador from the US in the 1980s. He was “sort of … |  | Becca Warner | 17 June 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Sustainability | becca-warner | all-categories conservation sustainability | |
| 2404 | What is the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)? | We are maybe more familiar with this here in the British Isles as “The Gulf Stream”. The Gulf Stream is only a part of the AMOC, but it is important to us. If this circulation fails, which it is on course to do, because of global warming, we are in trouble and so is all the sea life around our shores. The article is well presented, have a read. The AMOC is a system of … |  | NOAA | 16 June 2024 | All Categories, Education, Global Warming, Science | noaa | all-categories education global-warming science | |
| 2268 | Green, green sea grass of home | Lets take a look at the unusual Welsh nursery growing sea grass to save marine habitat. Bottom trawling must also be banned in these habitats. Sea grass meadows absorb huge amounts of CO2. |  | Steven Morris | 2 June 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Sustainability | steven-morris | all-categories conservation environment sustainability | |
| 2255 | Net zero or real zero? Assessing the carbon dioxide removal in net zero pledges | Net zero or real zero? Assessing the carbon dioxide removal in net zero pledges. | Frederic Hans, Sarah Heck, Silke Mooldijk | 30 May 2024 | All Categories, Science, Sustainability | frederic-hans sarah-heck silke-mooldijk | all-categories science sustainability education | ||
| 2335 | Tonga’s volcanic eruption could cause unusual weather for the rest of the decade, new study shows | Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (Hunga Tonga for short) erupted on January 15 2022 in the Pacific Kingdom of Tonga. It created a tsunami which triggered warnings across the entire Pacific basin, and sent sound waves around the globe multiple times. A new study published in the Journal of Climate explores the climate impacts of this eruption. | Martin Jucker | 30 May 2024 | All Categories, Education, Global Warming, Science | martin-jucker | all-categories education global-warming science | ||
| 2341 | Papuans head to Indonesian court to protect forests from palm oil | Indigenous activists from the Indonesian province of West Papua have held traditional ceremonies outside the country’s Supreme Court in Jakarta calling for their traditional land and forests to be protected from palm oil plantations. |  | Al Jazeera Staff | 28 May 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Food | al-jazeera-staff | all-categories conservation economics environment food energy | |
| 2343 | As catches fall, Sierra Leone’s artisanal fishers turn to destructive practices | Sierra Leone’s fish stocks have been under severe strain in recent years due to intensive industrial fishing and a growing population of artisanal fishers, with fishers consistently reporting falling catches. This has triggered heightened competition for increasingly scarce yields. To secure their livelihoods, artisanal fishers have turned to unsustainable fishing gear, such as undersize-mesh nets, and target fish breeding and nursery grounds, disrupting the fish reproductive cycle |  | Josef Skrdlik | 27 May 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Economics, Environment | josef-skrdlik | all-categories conservation economics environment | |
| 2549 | Top climate scientists are terrified but determined to keep fighting. | “Sometimes it is almost impossible not to feel hopeless and broken,” says the climate scientist Ruth Cerezo-Mota. “After all the flooding, fires, and droughts of the last three years worldwide, all related to climate change, and after the fury of Hurricane Otis in Mexico, my country, I really thought governments were ready to listen to the science, to act in the people’s best interest.” |  | Damian Carrington | 8 May 2024 | All Categories, Education, Environment, Global Warming, Science, Sustainability | damian-carrington | all-categories education environment global-warming science sustainability | |
| 2171 | World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target | Hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C (4.5F) above preindustrial levels this century, blasting past internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet, an exclusive Guardian survey has revealed. | Damian Carrington | 8 May 2024 | All Categories, Environment, Sustainability | damian-carrington | all-categories environment sustainability | ||
| 2551 | Australian cattle industry suggests shift from net zero target to ‘climate neutral’ approach | This I’m afraid is greenwashing. We have to dramatically cut meat consumption. Farming cattle is particularly inefficient so must be a focus. I don’t want to, but Ive stopped eating beef as I would be a hypocrite otherwise. Iain Dunn, excerpt below: The US cattle industry adopted a ‘climate neutral’ goal in 2021 but scientists say that ‘misses the point’ in keeping global temperature rises below 1.5C |  | Aston Brown | 7 May 2024 | All Categories, Beef, Dairy, Economics, Education, Farming, Global Warming, Greenwashing, Science, Sustainability | aston-brown | all-categories beef dairy economics education farming global-warming greenwashing science sustainability | |
| 2290 | Farmer confidence at lowest in England and Wales since survey began, NFU says | This survey is very important. We need to carry farmers with us as we tackle global warming. The National Farmers Union cites extreme wet weather and post-Brexit phasing-out of EU subsidies as main reasons for slump |  | Jack Simpson | 6 May 2024 | All Categories, Farming, Food, Sustainability | jack-simpson | all-categories farming food sustainability energy | |
| 2287 | Scientist hopeful for eel’s future as Ely celebrates | As Ely in Cambridgeshire celebrates its annual Eel Festival this weekend, what is the future of the now critically endangered fish that provided the city with its name? Eels are not found in Cambridgeshire’s River Great Ouse in anything like the numbers they once were. |  | Brian Farmer | 4 May 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Science | brian-farmer | all-categories conservation science education | |
| 2276 | Indian Ocean headed for a near-permanent state of marine heat wave | Heat waves are rising not just on land. Globally, marine heat waves are registering a growing trend. A recent study titled Future Projections for the Tropical Indian Ocean has found that the Indian Ocean is warming rapidly and moving towards a state of near-permanent marine heat waves, with 220-250 days of heat waves projected in a year until 2050. |  | Nidhi Jamwal | 4 May 2024 | All Categories, Environment, Science, Sustainability | nidhi-jamwal | all-categories environment science sustainability education | |
| 2270 | Lego-pushing bumblebees reveal insect collaboration dynamics | A new study reveals that cooperation by bumblebees isn’t simply a result of accumulated individual efforts. Rather, these miniature-brained creatures are not just hard-working pollinators, but also show signs of being master collaborators. |  | University of Oulu | 3 May 2024 | All Categories, Environment, Science | university-of-oulu | all-categories environment science education | |
| 2301 | Methane emissions from gas flaring being hidden from satellite monitors | Oil and gas equipment intended to cut methane emissions is preventing scientists from accurately detecting greenhouse gases and pollutants, a satellite image investigation has revealed. Energy companies operating in countries such as the US, UK, Germany and Norway appear to have installed technology that could stop researchers from identifying methane, carbon dioxide emissions and pollutants at industrial facilities involved in the disposal of unprofitable natural gas, known in the industry as flaring. |  | Christina Last, Tom Brown | 2 May 2024 | All Categories, Energy, Environment, Fuel, Global Warming | christina-last tom-brown | all-categories energy environment fuel global-warming | |
| 2541 | Revealing the denizens of the forest | Forest mammals live in a multidimensional space which they negotiate in myriad, ingenious ways. Many of them operate as much in the vertical dimension as in the horizontal, yet only bats have the power of flight. The “flying squirrels” we filmed in Japan actually glide through the forest, sacrificing height for distance but saving the vital energy that real flying or climbing would require. Add the vertical dimension of a forest and you open up … |  | Justine Allan | 2 May 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Global Warming | justine-allan | all-categories conservation environment global-warming | |
| 2296 | Challenge to fishing ban a threat to seabirds – RSPB | The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has said it is “vital” a UK ban on fishing for sandeels in the North Sea remains in place. The ban, which stops sandeel trawlers fishing in English and Scottish sections of the North Sea, came into effect in April following a long campaign by conservationists concerned about declining seabird populations, particularly puffins and kittiwakes. |  | Paul Murphy | 1 May 2024 | paul-murphy | |||
| 2299 | Paris leads coalition of EU states to demand actions against UK ban on bottom fishing | According to French government sources, nine EU countries will meet in Brussels at the start of the week to discuss the impact of the UK’s decision to ban bottom fishing in 13 marine protected areas, a measure London says applies equally to its own fishermen and those from the EU. |  | Hugo Struna | 30 April 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Food, Sustainability | hugo-struna | all-categories conservation environment food sustainability energy | |
| 2544 | Low-intensity grazing is locally better for biodiversity but challenging for land users, study shows | A team of researchers led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University (UL), and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has investigated the motivation and potential incentives for and challenges of low-intensity grazing among farmers and land users in Europe. The interview results have been published in Land Use Policy. |  | Kati Kietzmann | 30 April 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Food, Sustainability | kati-kietzmann | all-categories conservation environment farming food sustainability energy | |
| 2293 | Woman plants thousands of trees after buying fell | Thousands of trees have been planted on a fell after it was bought by a community interest company that plans to turn it into a nature reserve. Sally Phillips bought Low Fell in the Lake District three years ago through her company Buy Land Plant Trees. |  | Judy Hobson | 29 April 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Sustainability | judy-hobson | all-categories conservation environment farming sustainability | |
| 2303 | Mangroves: we used freely-available satellite images to track climate-resilient forests | Mangroves are one of most important ecosystems on the world’s coasts. They absorb the impact of storms, prevent erosion, provide food and safety for fish and other animals and can store huge amounts of carbon in the mud that builds up below them. |  | Komali Kantamaneni, Reshma Sunkur | 29 April 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Global Warming, Sustainability | komali-kantamaneni reshma-sunkur | all-categories conservation environment global-warming sustainability | |
| 2166 | Hill farming will end in Wales | Hill farming will end in Wales in time as eating habits evolve. We must continue to drive that evolution and look after the farmers at the same time. Time is up for specialised hill sheep breeds. Time is not up for the farmers and their families. Just transition will increase their incomes, improve the environment, stop extinctions and lock up carbon. What will happen? Mr Clubb concludes: “We have seen two very clear cases of … |  | Martin Shipton | 29 April 2024 | All Categories, Beef, Farming, Hill Farming, Sheep | martin-shipton | all-categories beef farming hill-farming sheep | |
| 2844 | Volcanic eruption: Inside Iceland’s new battle to tame a wave of deadly lava | After three years of fiery eruptions, experts are now confident that Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula has entered a new fiery phase. A fiery beast has awoken from centuries of slumber. The past three years have seen it create cracks in Earth’s crust on the southwestern tip of Iceland and belch fountains of lava up through them. It’s captivated people worldwide and inspired a mix of awe and fear. Experts say that after 800 years of quiet, … |  | Dr Claire Asher | 28 April 2024 | All Categories, Education, Environment, Global Warming, Science | dr-claire-asher | all-categories education environment global-warming science | |
| 2152 | Enlightened Dutch farmer, John Arink | Enlightened Dutch farmer, John Arink farms sustainably with no fertiliser and heritage Frisian Dutch cows. He runs a calf love program. Calves feed naturally from their mothers. A farmer who believes that we must eat less meat. |  | Christine Ro | 27 April 2024 | All Categories, Beef, Dairy, Farming | christine-ro | all-categories beef dairy farming | |
| 2250 | The carbon footprint of major travel methods revealed | Here we reveal the carbon footprint of our major travel methods. The most striking revelation is how very inefficient and polluting it is to travel alone in a big fuel thirsty car. |  | Bruno Venditti | 26 April 2024 | All Categories, Energy, Environment, Fuel, Sustainability | bruno-venditti | all-categories energy environment fuel sustainability | |
| 2538 | Sheep herded with special collars to protect birds | Moving away from physical field and farm boundaries is an interesting concept. See excerpt below: Grazing sheep are being fitted with collars to help them create nesting environments for threatened birds. RSPB Geltsdale in Cumbria is trialling the use of Nofence collars, which alert sheep when they leave designated areas. This keeps them grazing within “invisible” fences, where the animals can create clear spaces for ground-nesting birds to live. |  | Jonny Manning | 24 April 2024 | All Categories, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Sheep, Sustainability | jonny-manning | all-categories conservation environment farming sheep sustainability | |
| 2356 | Government urged to end subsidies as Drax accused of burning old forest wood | This is quite simply outrageous. Drax is seen as a renewable power supplier and is classed as carbon neutral. This is patently untrue. It is also appalling that our government subsidises Drax to do this. Campaign groups found that Drax, which owns the UK’s largest power station near Selby in North Yorkshire, sourced whole logs from primary and old growth forests – those with unique habitats and ecological functions. |  | Rebecca Speare-Cole | 28 February 2024 | Energy, Fuel, Greenwashing | rebecca-speare-cole | energy fuel greenwashing | |
| 2369 | Climate benefits of planting forests might be overestimated | The warming avoided by planting CO2-absorbing forests could be around 15 to 30 per cent lower than previously estimated due to feedbacks such as dark trees reflecting less sunlight. Our view is that it is good that this is being heavily researched and we aim to support that research. There is more to it. The under storey, the wildlife, the fungi. |  | Michael Le Page | 22 February 2024 | All Categories, Education, Science | michael-le-page | all-categories education science | |
| 2852 | Hen Harriers Disappearing | 8 more satellite-tagged hen harriers vanish – Natural England ‘forgets’ to mention them in latest press release On Saturday, Natural England published a press release providing details about this year’s hen harrier breeding season, including the latest results of its so-called ‘scientific trial’ of hen harrier brood management, which many of us refer to as brood meddling – a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out … |  | RaptorPersecutionUK | 19 September 2023 | All Categories, Conservation, Education, Environment, Science, Sustainability | raptorpersecutionuk | all-categories conservation education environment science sustainability | |
| 2764 | Vegan diet massively cuts environmental damage | Vegan diet massively cuts environmental damage, study shows Detailed analysis finds plant diets lead to 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich ones Eating a vegan diet massively reduces the damage to the environment caused by food production, the most comprehensive analysis to date has concluded. The research showed that vegan diets resulted in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than diets in which more than 100g of … |  | Damian Carrington | 7 July 2023 | All Categories, Education, Energy, Environment, Farming, Food, Global Warming, Sustainability | damian-carrington | all-categories education energy environment farming food global-warming sustainability | |
| 2506 | Climate change: Farms face job losses without net zero support | This is a major focus for Earth and Leaf. Welsh government is taking a lead with the sustainable farming scheme but has failed to carry farmers with them. Extract below: Mr Rickman, who is deputy president of the Farmers’ Union of Wales, recently brought in 26-year-old Sean Jeffreys as a partner at his 84-hectare farm near Bethlehem, Carmarthenshire. Farming was the “backbone of the rural economy”, agreed Mr Rickman, and severe job losses would be … |  | Steffan Messenger | 1 June 2023 | All Categories, Beef, Conservation, Dairy, Economics, Farming, Food, Hill Farming, Sheep, Shepherds of the Trees | steffan-messenger | all-categories beef conservation dairy economics farming food hill-farming sheep shepherds-of-the-trees energy | |
| 2347 | Glyphosate weedkiller damages wild bee colonies, study reveals | The critical ability of wild bumblebees to keep their colonies at the right temperature is seriously damaged by the weedkiller glyphosate, research has revealed. Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide in history, intended to kill only plants. The harm to bumblebees – vital pollinators – was not identified in regulatory risk assessments, which only test whether a pesticide rapidly kills healthy, individual bees. However, the collective failure to regulate colony temperature could have a … |  | Damian Carrington | 2 June 2022 | All Categories, Conservation, Education, Environment, Science, Sustainability | damian-carrington | all-categories conservation education environment science sustainability | |
| 2770 | In Sierra Leone, local fishers and foreign trawlers battle for their catch | In Sierra Leone, local fishers and foreign trawlers battle for their catch Overfishing isn’t a new problem in West Africa, where industrial fishing boats from across the world harvest massive quantities of seafood for both local and foreign markets. Many use ecologically destructive practices like bottom trawling, where vessels drag huge nets across the ocean floor, indiscriminately scooping up anything too big to escape and churning up corals, rocks and sediment. In Ghana, for example, … |  | Ashoka Mukpo | 24 May 2022 | All Categories, Conservation, Education, Energy, Environment, Fishing, Food, Sustainability | ashoka-mukpo | all-categories conservation education energy environment fishing food sustainability | |
| 2472 | A billion years from now, a lack of oxygen will wipe out life on Earth | This will happen. We’ve put it in here for educational reasons. Its a long way away. Humans will be long extinct anyway. Some of the science in here is ammunition for the deniers of man made climate change. Please think with your head and not your heart. Extract below: Earth will not be able to support and sustain life forever. Our oxygen-rich atmosphere may only last another billion years, according to a new study in … |  | Matthew Warke | 2 March 2021 | All Categories, Education, Environment, Global Warming, Science | matthew-warke | all-categories education environment global-warming science |