Pope Francis faces challenge persuading US's Catholic leaders on climate change
Campaigners say challenge lies in diverting church leaders from preoccupation with gay marriage in order to take up public cause the pope is seeking to ignite When the US supreme court legalised same-sex marriage in June, the leader of America’s Catholics erupted in white-hot fury, condemning the historic decision as “a tragic error”. When a […]
Why Soil Is The Key To Feeding The World
It’s no under-estimation to say that food is an essential aspect of human life. The challenge of ensuring that a global population, which is predicted to reach nine billion by 2050, has access to an affordable and nutritious food supply is not a simple one. Food production that provides the right nutrition levels and is […]
Yet another deadly snake species discovered in Australia
Scientists describe the highly camouflaged Kimberley death adder, native to Western Australia, as one of the world’s most venomous snakes Related: Snakebite treatment ‘will run out next year’ Ophidiophobics should fret not, but Australia has a new species of snake. Scientists have identified a new type of death adder in the Kimberley region of Western […]
Liberal senator Ian Macdonald says children 'brainwashed' on climate change
Of course the climate changes, politician says, but idea that humanity is contributing to it is ‘farcical and fanciful’ The Liberal senator Ian Macdonald has said children are being “brainwashed” by education campaigns urging Australians to take action on climate change, describing the political debate about how to tackle it as “puerile”. “The children of […]
London's Santander bikes get high-tech laser lights amid arms race to be seen
Great as it is to see Blaze’s Laserlights trialled for some of the hire bikes, proper infrastructure would be even better Among the attractions of London’s city-wide bike hire scheme, like those elsewhere, is its fundamental sameness: use one of the machines and, once you’ve checked for a wobbly saddle or rubbing wheel, you know […]
Hitler’s world may not be so far away | Timothy Snyder
Misunderstanding the Holocaust has made us too certain we are ethically superior to the Europeans of the 1940s. Faced with a new catastrophe – such as devastating climate change – could we become mass killers again? It was 20 years after I chose to become a historian that I first saw a photograph of the […]
UK drops out of top 10 renewable energy ranking for first time
EY report says Conservative government has sentenced renewable energy sector to death by a thousand cuts and left investors puzzled at policy changes The UK has dropped out of the top ten of a respected international league table on renewable energy for the first time since it began 12 years ago. In its quarterly report […]
Revealed: how Indigenous Australian storytelling accurately records sea level rises 7000 years ago
Distinctive ‘cross-checking’ tradition helps explain extraordinary accuracy in 21 stories about dramatic sea level rises between 7000 and 18,000 years ago Indigenous stories of dramatic sea level rises across Australia date back more than 7000 years in a continuous oral tradition without parallel anywhere in the world, according to new research. Related: Scientists predict huge […]
Summer bids farewell as autumn plants seize their moment
Crackington Haven, Cornwall: Ferns thrive in the undergrowth and blackthorns are loaded with sloes Downhill from the chapel and beyond garden hedges of orange montbretia, red valerian and fuchsia, the stark headland of Pencannow Point dominates the view seawards. Dark folded rocks tower above the haven with its cafe and hotel and the narrow bridge, […]
David Attenborough backs huge Apollo-style clean energy research plan
Naturalist says 10-year public research and development programme, that would emulate race to put men on the moon, could halt climate change An Apollo-style research programme to make renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels has won the backing of Sir David Attenborough, who says this alone would be enough to halt climate change. The renowned […]