The amount of water at the Earth’s surface is pretty constant, but in many parts of the developed world we are running out of the right sort of water, and our ability to access it. The severe water shortages…
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Environment – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 3951 - 3975 of 4510 articles
Across the open heather moors of upland Britain, last-minute preparations are being put in place for the start of the red grouse shooting season on August 12. On average about 200,000 grouse are shot every…
In an experiment for a forthcoming National Geographic television show Mind Over Masses, a pavement was divided into lanes, separating those that are walking from those walking while talking on mobile…
The speed and scale of China’s rapid economic growth has led to widespread degradation of its densely inhabited coastlines, according to an analysis of 60 years of social, economic and environmental data…
Britain, like many countries, has already witnessed the establishment of many non-native species of plants and animals, and about 15% have become problematic and so termed “invasive”. Some were deliberately…
For hundreds of thousands of years humans lived in hunter-gatherer societies, eating wild plants and animals. Inequality in these groups is thought to have been very low, with evidence suggesting food…
Energy prices are rising, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the profits of the handful of large energy supply companies are rising too. While it can be argued that there is no direct causal relationship…
We had driven the land cruiser for half a day across the seemingly endless reaches of the Great Basin, the vast, near-waterless region of valleys and plains that stretches out from Nevada in the western…
During Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s last visit to the UK, China signed a series of deals on energy and low carbon technology, and a declaration of cooperation on climate change. A few weeks later, similar…
The rise of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has ushered in an era of intense drilling that has been called the great shale gas rush. Fracking allows oil and natural gas to be extracted from horizontal…
A proposal for radioactive waste to appear at a burial site nearby, would be likely to fill the great majority of the UK population with thoughts of danger, cancer – and falling house prices. This illustrates…
Pictures of masked and gowned healthcare workers have become recurrent images as the Ebola virus continues to spread in West Africa. It is the largest Ebola virus outbreak ever recorded, and the death…
The deep sea is the largest habitat on earth and incredibly important to humans, but it faces many threats – from increased human exploitation to the effects of climate change. As this exploitation expands…
In every part of our daily routines technology makes its presence felt. Now, forward-thinking Finland plans to change the way Europe goes about urban travel using a novel system, based on a smartphone…
Hail, heavy rain, lightning and flash flooding – not necessarily typical summer weather in southeast England. But the recent unexpected deluge saw homes evacuated, stations flooded, and road and rail services…
The UK government is prepared to accept funding for studies on the risks of pesticides to bees and other pollinators from the manufacturers of the chemicals in question. Not surprisingly, this raises uncomfortable…
People like to say that we cannot witness evolution because it occurs over timescales immensely greater than our lifetime. That’s incorrect. We can witness evolution all we want, in our lifetime, by watching…
Many of us know from personal experience that raising children can be stressful, but a new study reveals that stress can be enough to affect the quality of parenting – in mongooses, at least. A recent…
We know elements of the story. It was 1911, as Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen raced to the South Pole. Temperatures were below -50˚C. Scott was British; Amundsen a Norwegian. Sled dogs were dying, and…
Despite the significant benefits they have and will continue to provide, the traditional approaches of protected areas and in situ conservation management alone cannot shield vulnerable species from the…
Are animals jealous? How would we know? Scientists are educated to have a deep scepticism about attributing sophisticated mental abilities to non-human animals. Anthropomorphism is regarded as a scientific…
The concept of the circular economy has left the realm of academic theory and entered the world of business. The price of natural resources and materials is soaring, and in response to volatile markets…
When commercial whaling was banned in 1986 it put an end to a harvest that threatened the existence of some of the most majestic animals on Earth. With several species reduced to tiny fractions of their…
The amount of the earth’s ocean surface covered by sea ice has been continually observed by satellites and its extent estimated since 1978. The trend has been for shrinking sea ice in the Arctic and, more…
In proposing a 30% rather than a 40% energy demand reduction target, the European Commission is increasing the risks that European Union member states face from fossil fuel dependence and slowing the economic…