George Monbiot on Democracy vs plutocracy: Endgame for our planet / Tom Engelhardt: Life in This Literal Hell

When I began work as an environmental journalist in 1985, I knew I would struggle against people with a financial interest in destructive practices. But I never imagined that we would one day confront what appears to be an ideological commitment to destroying life on Earth. The UK government and the US supreme court look… Read More George Monbiot on Democracy vs plutocracy: Endgame for our planet / Tom Engelhardt: Life in This Literal Hell

Young people go to European court to stop treaty that aids fossil fuel investors

Young victims of the climate crisis will on Tuesday launch legal action at Europe’s top human rights court against an energy treaty that protects fossil fuel investors. Five people, aged between 17 and 31, who have experienced devastating floods, forest fires and hurricanes are bringing a case to the European court of human rights, where they… Read More Young people go to European court to stop treaty that aids fossil fuel investors

There is a war on nature. Dom Phillips was killed trying to warn you about it

Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira have been killed in an undeclared global war against nature and the people who defend it. Their work mattered because our planet, the threats to it and the activities of those who threaten it matter. That work must be continued. The frontlines of this war are the Earth’s remaining biodiverse regions –… Read More There is a war on nature. Dom Phillips was killed trying to warn you about it

How we can overcome the growing plastic crisis / Tobacco industry severely damages environment: WHO

Plastic has long had the planet in its grip. All too often it is found piled up on beaches and floating as “plastic islands” in the ocean. But it also clogs the stomachs of birds and other animals, and has even made it into the human bloodstream. To date, just 9% of the world’s plastic has… Read More How we can overcome the growing plastic crisis / Tobacco industry severely damages environment: WHO

Apocalypse now? The alarming effects of the global food crisis

Apocalypse is an alarming idea, commonly taken to denote catastrophic destruction foreshadowing the end of the world. But in the original Greek, apokálypsis means a revelation or an uncovering. One vernacular definition is “to take the lid off something”.  That latter feat is exactly what Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, achieved last week,… Read More Apocalypse now? The alarming effects of the global food crisis

Literature from the Congo Basin offers ways to address the climate crisis

The African continent is responsible for only 2–3% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industrial sources. But it’s alarmingly suffering from the effects of the climate crisis, as reports from the UN and others show. On the positive side, Africa has a huge potential for climate mitigation, especially thanks to its tropical rainforests. The Congo Basin’s rainforests in central Africa… Read More Literature from the Congo Basin offers ways to address the climate crisis

Dupont and the forever toxic chemicals / Tom Petty I Won't Back Down

This is a song at the end of the film Dark Waters (2019), about the lawyer who became Duponts worst nightmare. Dark Waters, tells of the toxic spills scandal that led to US chemicals giant DuPont paying US$671 million (£516 million) to settle more than 3,500 lawsuits in 2017. The company’s plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia had been contaminating the… Read More Dupont and the forever toxic chemicals / Tom Petty I Won't Back Down

Global warming risks most cataclysmic extinction of marine life in 250 million years

Global heating is causing such a drastic change to the world’s oceans that it risks a mass extinction event of marine species that rivals anything that’s happened in the Earth’s history over tens of millions of years, new research has warned. Accelerating climate change is causing a “profound” impact upon ocean ecosystems that is “driving… Read More Global warming risks most cataclysmic extinction of marine life in 250 million years

Myanmar- ‘Quick profits’: Activists fear for environment under military rule

There are already signs that the coup has prompted an increase in illegal mining and logging, and regime economic policies are set to compound the environmental destruction at a time when activists and communities are unable to push back. Within months of the February 2021 coup, there were already signs that military rule could have… Read More Myanmar- ‘Quick profits’: Activists fear for environment under military rule