How a student's death highlighted our reliance on companies for health advice
The death of Wei Zei, a student seeking cancer cures online, raises questions about the responsibility of tech companies for the health data they provide China’s equivalent of Google is under fire. Search engine Baidu has been criticised following the death of 21-year-old student Wei Zai, who used the search engine to research esoteric treatments […]
The eco guide to population growth
Every hour 10,000 people are born. Fortunately a new crop of eco innovations will help tackle the pressures on our planet The regularity with which I’m contacted by population worriers – people who think it’s pointless discussing green energy, climate change and ethical pensions when the elephant in the room is actually the new human […]
The eco guide to cargo ships
The shipping industry burns fossil fuels on a grand scale, and scarcely even tries to reduce its emissions A seafaring adage goes: “If the winds are shifting, adjust your sails.” But even with the disturbing winds of climate change, the shipping industry, with its combustion of fossil fuels (accounting for 2.4% of global emissions), remains […]
Bubbles, the oldest pilot whale in captivity, dies at SeaWorld
Bubbles was in her early 50s and had lived at the park in San Diego for nearly 30 years Bubbles, a female pilot whale at SeaWorld in San Diego that was believed to have been the oldest animal of her species in a zoological park, has died. In an online statement, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc said […]
The coastal village, the mining giant and the battle for South Africa’s soul
As the economy grows weaker, the fight over a massive titanium mine near the village of Xolobeni is a symbol of the struggle between traditional industry and a sustainable future The dunes appear endless. Behind them lie rolling grassy hills, banana trees, sweet potato fields and thatched huts. There are horses, goats and dogs, but […]
How the ‘animal internet’ sheds light on the secrets of migration
Digital tracking of creatures from tiny birds to whales offers up new data on the epic trips some species make, and their role in ecology and economics Aristotle thought the mysterious silver eel emerged from the earth fully formed. The young Sigmund Freud could not understand how it reproduced, and modern biologists puzzled for years […]
The last frontier: the climbers conquering Mount Everest without oxygen
Among elite mountain climbers, summiting Everest sans oxygen has become the latest challenge in an already grueling journey Another climbing season has finished on Mount Everest, with the inevitable tales of tragedy and triumph. Since 2000, an average of seven people a year have died on Everest. The past two years were especially grim: 19 […]
British flower power: how home-grown blooms can compete with cheap imports
The UK spends more than £2bn on cut flowers per year, but around 90% are imported. Now a new breed of growers are determined to grab more of that market, by persuading the public that local and seasonal are the ways to go Georgie Newbery sometimes has to dodge a hunting barn owl when she […]
The humble daisy brings a smile to my face
South Uist The plant’s uses are many, but the sight of a sunlit field full of daisies is perhaps what we should value most Daisies are one of our best known and most widely distributed wildflowers, and maybe this is why we sometimes pass them by with barely a second glance. This morning, though, they […]
'It smells so bad you can taste it': bats plague Australian tourist town
A fifth of the country’s population of large bats is descending en masse on Batemans Bay, repeatedly knocking out electricity and robbing locals of sleep Batemans Bay is a picturesque coastal town known as a tourist destination on the south coast of New South Wales. But tens of thousands of visitors of another kind have […]