Raising livestock accounts for the largest single land-use on Earth. Cattle, sheep and goats, pigs and poultry occupy around 30% of the planet’s land area not covered in ice, generate 40% of the world’s…
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Environment – Research and News
Displaying 26 - 40 of 40 articles
Researchers working with the world’s most complete data on threatened species have pinpointed the most irreplaceable regions, whose existence is not only vital to species’ survival, but which are also…
Stop “discounting the future”, work co-operatively, shake up national and international institutions, and fight short-termism were among the calls in a new study released yesterday. With the world’s richest…
Efforts to curb invasive mink are taking a modern turn in Scotland, where a project is providing spotters with an app to log the movements of their targets. MinkApp enable volunteers to upload information…
The term “carbon capture and storage” seems only to appear when shortly followed by “not commercially proven” or “in development”. But construction has now begun on what will be the world’s first commercial…
Global warming is “unequivocal”, according to the fifth IPCC report which, after six years in preparation, delivers a detailed picture of the science behind climate change. In the strongest language yet…
On the same day that the latest instalment of the Jurassic Park film series has been confirmed, a study published in the journal PLOS One has detailed experiments that seem to demonstrate once and for…
A previously unknown canyon has been discovered in Greenland, hidden beneath the ice. It is at least 750 kilometres long. To put that in perspective, imagine a ten kilometre wide gorge, up to 800 metres…
Regardless of economic strength or level of development, countries with substantial fossil fuel resources are almost certain to be heavy carbon polluters – a phenomenon dubbed the “carbon curse”. A study…
A review of research data from almost 400 scientists in 52 countries has concluded that policy makers need to adapt to “the new normal” of rising world temperatures and the changes they bring. The US National…
The ominous howl of the wolf has long been a source of fear and fascination for mankind. But new research shows they are not so different from people – for every wolf has its own distinct voice. By recording…
While not the brightest of primates, one species of lemur has shown it can still learn a trick or two, staying safe from predators by heeding the alarm calls of other creatures in the forest. Of all the…
There is a huge global demand for clean water, with poor sanitation and water scarcity causing around 768 million people to go without. In an effort to solve the crisis, an international team of scientists…
Penguins can move underwater with the speed of a swallow or swift, but cannot fly even as far as a chicken. How did a bird that in some cases shuffles 40 miles to its breeding grounds on unsuitable flippers…
The skin and bones of long-dead tigers from the days of the British Raj have helped reveal how the latest threat to the endangered species is their own DNA. Taking DNA samples from game hunters’ trophies…