Tag: ecology

The world can cut plastic pollution by 80% by 2040: UN

Laura Paddison, CNN Countries could slash plastic pollution by 80% in less than two decades, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme. Plastic pollution is a scourge that affects every part of the world, from the Arctic, to the oceans and the air we breathe. It’s even changing ecosystems. Scientists recently found rocks made from plastic on a remote… Read More The world can cut plastic pollution by 80% by 2040: UN

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Microbes discovered that can digest plastics at low temperatures

Helena Horton Microbes that can digest plastics at low temperatures have been discovered by scientists in the Alps and the Arctic, which could be a valuable tool in recycling. Many microorganisms that can do this have already been found, but they can usually only work at temperatures above 30C (86F). This means that using them… Read More Microbes discovered that can digest plastics at low temperatures

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Climate emergency is the biggest health crisis of our time: bigger than Covid

Pascal Soriot The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is a grim, yet unsurprising, reminder of the catastrophic effect global heating is having on our planet. The message from leading climate scientists is clear: action is needed now. Not tomorrow, not next year, not by the end of the decade. Even drastic carbon reduction today… Read More Climate emergency is the biggest health crisis of our time: bigger than Covid

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Noam Chomsky: Savage capitalist lunatics are running the asylum

Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian: When Lunatics Run the Asylum I’m proud to have lived through the last 20-odd years at TomDispatch with Noam Chomsky, now a remarkable 94. In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, I stumbled into creating this site and, in October 2003, first posted a piece of his… Read More Noam Chomsky: Savage capitalist lunatics are running the asylum

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Texas youth organizers take aim at the biggest oil field in the US

A first-of-its-kind municipal climate charter in Texas could throw a wrench in US fossil fuel extraction. Residents of a major Texas city just west of the Permian Basin, the largest oil field in the US, will have the chance to vote on the package this spring. If the proposal passes, the city of El Paso would adopt a comprehensive… Read More Texas youth organizers take aim at the biggest oil field in the US

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Repowering the world: the challenge of electrification

Adam Tooze As far as we are currently able to judge, our best chance to halt the further escalation of the climate crisis through decarbonization of the economy depends on electricity and electrification. Given the current horizon of technological expectations, electric power and electric technology offer us the best chance of reconciling the insatiable desire… Read More Repowering the world: the challenge of electrification

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Disturbance

How atomic doomsday experiments, fuelled by Cold War fears, shaped, then shook ecologists’ faith in self-healing nature Laura J Martin When Hurricane Fiona flooded regions of Puerto Rico with up to 30 inches of rain in September last year, the island was still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria, two catastrophic storms in 2017 during which nearly 3,000… Read More Disturbance

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‘Sadness in the whole forest’: family of Cop City activist killed by US police seeks answers

Manuel Paez Terán was protesting a planned Atlanta police training center when officers repeatedly shot and killed him. The activist, who went by the name Tortuguita, was one of dozens trying to protect the South River Forest from a $90m, 85-acre police and fire department training center planned for the site. The project is known… Read More ‘Sadness in the whole forest’: family of Cop City activist killed by US police seeks answers

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