Cobwebs from the heavens
On 21 September 1741, the young clergyman-to-be rose before daybreak and went into the fields for a bit of sport. “I found the stubbles and clover-grounds matted all over with a thick coat of cobweb, in the meshes of which a copious and heavy dew hung so plentifully that the whole face of the country […]
Lion cubs make first appearance at Ohio zoo – video
Four small lion cubs made their public debut at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio on 23 September. The lion cubs were born to second-time mother Asali and father Tomo on 16 August, the zoo said. It was the first lion birth at the zoo since September 2009, the zoo said Continue reading… Source: […]
VW scandal: German prosecutors launch inquiry into former boss
Martin Winterkorn faces possible fraud charges over world’s biggest carmaker’s use of software to rig diesel emissions tests The crisis enveloping Volkswagen has intensified as German prosecutors opened an investigation of the former boss of the world’s biggest carmaker, Martin Winterkorn, over the emissions scandal. As a senior German politician expressed concerns about the effects […]
Lock-in: how today's oil drilling fuels tomorrows political and economic problems
As Obama opens the Arctic for oil drilling, is he also making it harder for America to wean itself from its dependence on fossil fuels? Earlier this month, the fossil fuel economy was confronted with two stark reality checks. The first, a scientific study on the effects of fuel combustion, showed that if we burned […]
No more orange blocks of cheddar: Wisconsin leads farmstead cheese movement
‘Whatever nature gives us, we make cheese with it,’ is a motto for Saxon Creamery, a dairy farm in Wisconsin, where sustainable cheese is seeing a boom Not far from Lake Michigan is Saxon Homestead Farm, a Wisconsin dairy farm that’s been in the Klessig Family for five generations. A few hundred cows roam the […]
World's smallest snail discovered in China
Tiny land snail that can fit 10 times in the eye of a needle found in Guangxi province Snails small enough to fit almost 10 times into the eye of a needle have been discovered in Guangxi province, Southern China. With their shells measuring 0.86mm in height, the researchers believe they are the smallest land […]
Move over craft beer, single-estate spirits aim to be the next drinks trend
Demand for all things “craft” and local has stretched beyond beer into spirits, offering an opportunity to build a more sustainable industry Stretching 2,000-acres to the beautiful Lunan Bay, Arbikie Highland Estate is an arable farm producing crops including potatoes, wheat, barley and rapeseed. For four generations, the Stirling family has been farming this land, […]
Shell abandons Alaska Arctic drilling
Oil giant’s US president says hugely controversial drilling operations off Alaska will stop for ‘foreseeable future’ as drilling finds little oil and gas Shell has abandoned its controversial drilling operations in the Alaskan Arctic in the face of mounting opposition in what jubilant environmentalists described as “an unmitigated defeat” for big oil. The Anglo-Dutch company […]
UK's £6bn climate finance pledge is welcome – but not its fair share
Analysis suggests France and Germany will be giving about twice as much in 2020 – and other aid budgets may lose out so the UK can pay its climate debt The UK’s £5.8bn ($8.8bn) pledge to help poor nations cope with climate change falls short of the country’s fair share of the burden and the […]
Margaret Lawson
My grandmother, Margaret Lawson, who has died aged 96, was in many ways a woman ahead of her time. She was a passionate environmentalist who worked as a civil servant as well as raising seven children, and at the age of 67 went to university. Margaret was born in Brixton, south London, to Joseph Shaw, […]