Tag: nature

Fossil fuel burning once caused a mass extinction – now we’re risking another

George Monbiot Budleigh Salterton, on the south coast of Devon, sits above the most frightening cliffs on Earth. They are not particularly high. Though you don’t want to stand beneath them, they are not especially prone to collapse. The horror takes another form. It is contained in the story they tell. For they capture the… Read More Fossil fuel burning once caused a mass extinction – now we’re risking another

Dilip

Apocalypse in the rear-view mirror

Magdalena Taube Krystian Woznicki The planet, as authoritarian capitalism’s plaything, is subject to real-world economic-ecological downward spirals. And yet exorbitant space exploration projects continue to build escapist dreams on extractivism. And the threat of nuclear war continues to push at the limits of tenuous environmental stability. Earthrise reloaded When the Tesla Gigafactory opened in Brandenburg, Elon… Read More Apocalypse in the rear-view mirror

Dilip

Sale of oil and gas permits casts shadow over world’s second-largest rainforest

Cassie Dummett Villagers in the Congo basin rely on the forest for food, medicine and spiritual wellbeing, but an auction of exploration rights could threaten that way of life West accused of double standards over oil and gas exploration in DRC “I have lived all my life in the forest; everything I do is in… Read More Sale of oil and gas permits casts shadow over world’s second-largest rainforest

Dilip

Jair Bolsonaro’s assault on the Amazon rainforest

First posted January 2, 2019 NB: Two things arise from these and related developments for us to think about: 1./ The nation-state as an institution is detrimental for the health of the environment. Environment and ecological issues are global, but nationalism makes us think that natural resources like clean air, water and forests are somehow the… Read More Jair Bolsonaro’s assault on the Amazon rainforest

Dilip

World’s central banks financing destruction of the rainforest

Andrew Downie in São Paulo Some of the world’s biggest central banks are unwittingly helping to finance agri-business giants engaged in the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon, according to a report published on Wednesday. The Bank of England, the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are among the institutions that have bought millions of… Read More World’s central banks financing destruction of the rainforest

Dilip

‘It’s a miracle’: Gran Abuelo in Chile could be world’s oldest living tree

John Bartlett 100ft alerce has estimated age of 5,484, more than 600 years older than Methuselah in California. In a secluded valley in southern Chile, a lone alerce tree stands above the canopy of an ancient forest. Green shoots sprout from the crevices in its thick, dark trunks, huddled like the pipes of a great cathedral… Read More ‘It’s a miracle’: Gran Abuelo in Chile could be world’s oldest living tree

Dilip

Scientists hope ‘world’s loneliest tree’ will help answer climate questions

Eva Corlett It is regarded as the “loneliest tree in the world” but the Sitka spruce on uninhabited Campbell Island has been keeping good company of late – with a team of New Zealand researchers who believe it could help unlock climate change secrets. The nine-metre tall spruce holds the Guinness World Record title for the “remotest… Read More Scientists hope ‘world’s loneliest tree’ will help answer climate questions

Dilip

Large parts of Amazon may never recover, major study says

Andrew Downie Environmental destruction in parts of the Amazon is so complete that swathes of the rainforest have reached tipping point and might never be able to recover, a major study carried out by scientists and Indigenous organisations has found. “The tipping point is not a future scenario but rather a stage already present in… Read More Large parts of Amazon may never recover, major study says

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