Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesTipping points are about to tipSeptember 20, 2022Failure to limit global warming to the targets set by international accords will most likely set off several climate “tipping points,” a team of scientists said on Thursday.With irreversible effects including the collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, abrupt thawing of Arctic permafrost and the death of …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesBoreal Forest: From carbon sink to sourceSeptember 20, 2022If you asked someone 10 years ago how they could help the environment, they’d have said to recycle.I can’t tell you how many poems, drawings and art competitions we had at school about the importance of separating plastic, garden and general waste. It was a lot. Today however, planting …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesWet bulb temperatures are risingSeptember 14, 2022Between March and May this year, India alongside countries including the UK, Portugal, and France, endured repeated heatwaves that exposed more than a billion people to dangerously hot conditions.India broke several temperature records, recording its hottest March in more than a century and a new high of more than 49C in …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesWhy climate action needs rhetoric to turn into plans, progress and policySeptember 1, 2022As the world’s leaders gather in New York for the U.N. General Assembly this week, the US has said it will be delivering a message many thought was not possible a few years back: to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesStop Bloody WhalingAugust 31, 2022Unless you’ve been locked in a cupboard for the past few years, you’ve no doubt seen (or at least heard about) the Netflix documentaries Black Fish (2013) and/or Seaspiracy (2021), both of which came out to mixed reviews from viewers and critics alike.Whichever side you land on however, what we do know from …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesHow the weather changes our landscapesAugust 17, 2022Last week and over the weekend, the UK experienced its second heat wave of the year.This is an occurrence that is becoming all the more frequent in a country ill-prepared for temperatures that stray outside low single digit to high twenties (that’s Celsius, for our imperial metric friends). But this …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesThe plight of the mangrovesAugust 15, 2022On an expedition in the Amazon River Delta, researchers found mangroves growing in water with little to no salinity and overlapping with freshwater forested wetlands—a phenomenon never before documented in deltas or coastal mangroves anywhere else in the world.On an expedition in the Amazon River Delta, researchers found mangroves growing in water …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesA Spotlight on Birdgirl: The young naturalist defying stereotypesAugust 8, 2022Prominent British-Bangladeshi ornithologist, environmentalist and diversity activist.Mya-Rose Craig—self-marketed as Birdgirl—is a British birdwatcher, author, and holds an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Bristol.Twitter: @BirdGirlUK Instagram: @BirdGirlUK LinkedIn: @mya-rose-birdgirl-craigOrnithologistEnvironmentalistDiversity ActivistSpotlightLooking fondly back to my early 20s (which, let’s be honest, was a while ago), I …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesThe emissions no one seems to like talking aboutJuly 27, 2022When it comes to climate change, the focus tends to be on carbon dioxide. But hot on its heels is methane (CH₄), the second most important greenhouse gascontributing to the climate emergency.The UK, along with more than 100 other countries, made a pledge at the 2021 COP26 meeting …
Climate// Hidden Stories SeriesGreenwashing: The new climate battlegroundJuly 25, 2022GreenwashPronunciation /ˈɡriːnwɒʃ/ | NOUN | mass noun “Disinformation disseminated by an organisation so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.”In our hyper-consumption based society, you probably won’t be alone in raising a sceptical eyebrow when you hear brands make claims about how they’re “doing their part” in the quest to …