'Smog is our best advertising': pollution has an upside for some | Oliver Milman
For companies who bottle pure mountain air, like one in Canada, plummeting air quality is a business opportunity. For the rest of us, it’s a killer For one company, at least, the world’s escalating air pollution crisis has an upside. While billions of people live amid a fog of harmful airborne particles each day, Vitality […]
Gardens: what to do this week
Sow your veg patch with pollinator-friendly flowers, thin out waterlilies, plant diascias A few rows of annual flowers criss-crossing your veg patch doesn’t just look pretty – it lures in beneficial insects such as lacewings and hoverflies (whose larvae hoover up aphids), and bees and butterflies to pollinate crops. Sow pot marigolds, nigella, poached egg […]
World's smallest porpoise 'at edge of extinction' as illegal gillnets take toll
Now only 60 of Mexico’s vaquita marina left despite the navy enforcing a ban on the fishing net, latest study shows Environmentalists warned on Friday that Mexico’s vaquita marina, the world’s smallest porpoise, was close to extinction as the government reported that only 60 were now left. Related: Mexico to employ drones in tracking endangered […]
Where land meets sea, an otter has left its mark
Eriskay We don’t have to get much nearer to confirm our suspicions that what we’ve found is an otter spraint site It’s the patch of colour, a green much brighter than that of the sheep-nibbled turf covering the rest of the slope, that first suggests there might be something worth investigating. A little lower down […]
Horns of a dilemma: retiree to fly 80 South African rhinos to Australia
Former sales executive who emigrated to Australia 30 years ago is hatching a daring plan in an attempt to save the species from poachers A retired South African sales executive who emigrated to Australia 30 years ago is hatching a daring plan to airlift 80 rhinos to his adopted country in an attempt to save […]
'Killed this here critter': outrage after US rancher shoots rare wolverine
A North Dakota rancher shot and killed the first wolverine documented in the state for more than 150 years, allegedly saying it was a threat to his cows A North Dakota rancher fatally shot the first wolverine documented in the state in more than 150 years, outraging wildlife advocates across the US who said the […]
Three men face charges for killing tiny, endangered fish in drunken rampage
Devils Hole pupfish, of which there are fewer than 115 in existence, found dead after men were seen entering fenced-off area of national park Three men have been arrested over a drunken rampage that resulted in the death of a member of one of the rarest fish species in the world. The three suspects have […]
Russia's state-owned nuclear group keen to break into UK market
Rosatom understood to be hoping to revive plans to build reactors in Britain if EDF proposals for Hinkley Point C fail A Russian nuclear group is hoping that the potential meltdown of French plans to build new European pressurised reactors at Hinkley Point could offer an opportunity to break into the British nuclear market. Deeper […]
The Con-Venience: the art shop stocked with decades-old litter
In the Forest of Dean, a corner store stocked with old trash is in fact an installation helping to raise awareness of our throwaway lifestyles The Con-Venience corner shop in Colford in the Forest of Dean looks a lot like a standard corner shop. Look closer, though, and you’ll see it is stocked with decades-old […]
'We have to fight this': North Yorkshire village opposes fracking plans
Campaigners in Kirby Misperton say there could be a domino effect if council approves application next week As you enter the village of Kirby Misperton, in North Yorkshire, the first thing you notice are the many signs dotted around asking visitors to respect the tranquility of the countryside. There are the “No HGV” and “No […]