Tag: ecology

‘Blah, blah, blah’: Greta Thunberg lambasts leaders over climate crisis

Greta Thunberg has excoriated global leaders over their promises to address the climate emergency, dismissing them as “blah, blah, blah”. She quoted statements by Boris Johnson: “This is not some expensive, politically correct, green act of bunny hugging”, and Narendra Modi: “Fighting climate change calls for innovation, cooperation and willpower” but said the science did not… Read More ‘Blah, blah, blah’: Greta Thunberg lambasts leaders over climate crisis

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Nancy Lindisfarne & Jonathan Neale – Afghanistan: The Climate Crisis

Last month we wrote about the end of the American occupation of Afghanistan and the Taliban victory. This piece is about climate change in Afghanistan. The topic is urgent. Afghanistan is one of countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change. This year a long-running drought caused by climate change has reduced the harvest by almost… Read More Nancy Lindisfarne & Jonathan Neale – Afghanistan: The Climate Crisis

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Sarah Johnson: Climate crisis leaving ‘millions at risk of trafficking and slavery’

Millions of people forced to leave their homes because of severe drought and powerful cyclones are at risk of modern slavery and human trafficking over the coming decades, a new report warns. The climate crisis and the increasing frequency of extreme weather disasters including floods, droughts and megafires are having a devastating effect on the livelihoods of… Read More Sarah Johnson: Climate crisis leaving ‘millions at risk of trafficking and slavery’

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Omair Ahmad: What would the proposed large-scale cultivation of oil palm mean to India’s ecology and economy?

The truth is that Indians have switched to palm oil not because of some great choice but merely because it has come cheap. For most people cooking their food in palm oil or some mixture thereof, the content makes little difference. It is just another vegetable oil to them. The very versatility of the oil… Read More Omair Ahmad: What would the proposed large-scale cultivation of oil palm mean to India’s ecology and economy?

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Robin McKie: Is deep-sea mining a cure for the climate crisis or a curse?

Trillions of metallic nodules on the sea floor could help stop global heating, but mining them may damage ocean ecology   In a display cabinet in the recently opened Our Broken Planet exhibition in London’s Natural History Museum, curators have placed a small nugget of dark material covered with faint indentations. The blackened lump could easily be mistaken… Read More Robin McKie: Is deep-sea mining a cure for the climate crisis or a curse?

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Vanessa Andreotti: If we lose the Amazon, our world will lose its future

Brazil is voting to legalize the destruction of the Amazon forest and the extermination of Indigenous peoples, the forest’s last line of defense.    It is not just the people of Brazil who will suffer in the face of their government’s smartly coordinated attack on humanity’s future. All of us, across the world, are set to… Read More Vanessa Andreotti: If we lose the Amazon, our world will lose its future

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George Monbiot: Dead Line – Future corporate profits are officially more important than life on Earth

The human tragedy is that there is no connection between what we know and what we do. Almost everyone is now at least vaguely aware that we face the greatest catastrophe our species has ever confronted. Yet scarcely anyone alters their behaviour in response: above all, their driving, flying and consumption of meat and dairy.… Read More George Monbiot: Dead Line – Future corporate profits are officially more important than life on Earth

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Mahesh Chitnis – Landslide lessons: Kinnaur villagers vow to protect their hills from hydro projects

A massive landslide that struck National Highway number 5 near Nigulsari of Kinnaur district on August 11 killed at least 23 people and several people are still believed to be trapped under debris. Teams from National Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and other agencies are engaged in rescue operations. The increasing incidence of landslides… Read More Mahesh Chitnis – Landslide lessons: Kinnaur villagers vow to protect their hills from hydro projects

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It’s now or never: Scientists warn time of reckoning has come for the planet

Heatwaves and the heavy rains that cause flooding have become more intense and more frequent since the 1950s in most parts of the world, and climate change is now affecting all inhabited regions of the planet. Drought is increasing in many places and it is more than 66% likely that numbers of major hurricanes and typhoons have risen since the… Read More It’s now or never: Scientists warn time of reckoning has come for the planet

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William Taylor: Melting Mongolian ice reveals fragile clues about how past people lived

In the world’s high mountain regions, life needs ice. From the Rockies to the Himalayas, glaciers and other accumulations of snow and ice persist throughout the year. Often found on shaded slopes protected from the sun, these ice patches transform barren peaks into biological hot spots. As an archaeologist, I value these snow and ice… Read More William Taylor: Melting Mongolian ice reveals fragile clues about how past people lived

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