Eye-opening research suggests sleeping crocodiles still keep watch
Researchers in Australia and Germany find crocodiles deploy ‘unilateral eye closure’ while dozing in order to keep a close eye on potential threats or prey If you ever thought you could safely tiptoe past a sleeping crocodile, please reconsider – scientists have confirmed that the fearsome reptiles sleep with one eye open. Researchers in Australia […]
Judge warns Massey Energy CEO not to bring politics into mine explosion trial
Don Blankenship’s lawyers have found ways to repeatedly suggest to jurors that regulators targeted his company for political reasons under Obama’s watch An outspoken critic of president Barack Obama charged with conspiring to violate mine safety rules before a deadly explosion is under orders not to tell jurors he’s being persecuted by Democrats. The federal […]
MIT unveils plan to fight climate change but will not divest from fossil fuels
University’s five-year plan does not include divesting $12.4bn endowment MIT president: ‘Engagement is the only way to get there’ The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a five-year plan on Wednesday to combat climate change but said it will not divest its $12.4bn endowment from fossil fuels, despite pressure from students and a campus committee. Senior […]
Plantwatch: Acorn crop dips as climate changes
Oak leaves in Britain are still mostly green. The oak is one of the last trees to change colour in autumn, although many have already dropped their acorns. But the days of finding lots of big acorns may be drawing to a close since they are falling victim to climate change. A study of acorns […]
Becoming a B Corp: only for the sustainable elite?
It can be tough for a business to get certified in social and environmental performance – just ask organic winemaker Fetzer Vineyards In 1968, Barney Fetzer decided to start what he believed was a revolution in the fertile lands of California’s Mendocino County. He was going to challenge the status quo and seek out winemaking […]
Morrisons pulls plug on £2m sustainable farming project
Retailer brings end to ‘living laboratory’ programme in Ayrshire, set up in 2009 to investigate sustainable meat production The supermarket chain Morrisons is pulling out of a sustainable farming project in which it has invested £2m over the last five years. The struggling retailer took over the running of a 1,000-acre estate belonging to Dumfries […]
Hinkley Point power station makes no sense on so many levels
Chinese-funded nuclear power station will cost customers dear and could be delayed by years – but what do David Cameron and George Osborne care? In a rational world, the concerns of the UK intelligence agencies would kill the idea of Chinese state involvement in our nuclear power stations. Here, we will stick to a financial […]
How the NFU took hold of The Archers | Letters
Recent “what about the farmworkers?” correspondence in relation to The Archers (Letters, 6, 10 and 13 October) strikes a chord. Back in the 1970s as an officer of the agricultural workers’ union, the NUAAW, I raised just this point with the late Anthony Parkin, agricultural adviser to The Archers, following complaints from union branches that […]
Hoesung Lee – an ordinary guy who helped ‘clean up’ Korea
An economist, whose brother is a former prime minister of South Korea, is the IPCC’s new chief, reports the Straits Times Although one of the world’s top carbon emitters, South Korea has also become a leader in pursuing climate-resilient economic development. Its transformation was witnessed – and partially pioneered – by Dr Hoesung Lee, an […]
David Cameron confirms Hinkley nuclear power station deal with China – video
The British prime minister David Cameron celebrates UK-Chinese trading and says he wants to see even more trade flowing between the two countries, as he confirms a deal with China General Nuclear Power Corporation to build a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset. Hinkley Point will become Britain’s first new nuclear power station in […]