Imagine Project sets out to cut waste in the industry by renting rather than selling bikes, which can then be returned and refurbished when the child outgrows them

The idea had been nagging at her for years, but Isla Rowntree went to the ends of the earth before she was finally ready to go ahead with something she hopes will revolutionise the way the bicycle industry is run.

This is the Imagine Project, currently being developed by Rowntree’s eponymous firm making children’s bicycles, Islabikes. It offers a simple but hugely innovative solution to reducing waste – bikes will be rented to customers rather than sold, and returned to the factory for refurbishment when their young rider outgrows them.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Rother valley, Derbyshire The malign dragon’s breath ceased, the air cleared, then a corner of the vast works became a nature reserve

As a boy, rushing south from Chesterfield on the train, I remember how the farmland was interrupted by the Avenue coking works breathing fire and acrid smoke like a malign dragon. Eight hundred people worked there, producing fuel for steel works, along with sulphuric acid and tar, in one of the most contaminated industrial sites in Europe.

Related: How industrial sites can play a key role in wildlife conservation

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Source: Guardian Environment

Websites pushing climate science denial are growing their audience in an era where populist rhetoric and the rejection of expertise is gaining traction

For years now geologists have been politely but forcefully arguing over the existence or otherwise of a new epoch – one that might have started decades ago.

Some of the world’s most respected geologists and scientists reckon humans have had such a profound impact on the Earth that we’ve now moved out of the Holocene and into the Anthropocene.

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Source: Guardian Environment

International Whaling Commission meeting in Slovenia follows Japan’s recent slaughter of more than 300 minke whales

Australia has thrown its weight behind a bid to outlaw large-scale commercial and so-called “scientific” whaling at a summit next week.

The International Whaling Commission meeting in Slovenia follows Japan’s recent slaughter of more than 300 minke whales, many of them pregnant, when they resumed so-called scientific whaling after a hiatus because the International Court of Justice ruled the hunts were not scientific and should cease.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Mining company denies prosecutor claims that executives knew the Samarco dam could fail but allegedly prioritised profits over safety

Eight employees of BHP Billiton face criminal charges over the Samarco dam collapse a year ago that left 19 people dead and hundreds homeless, amid accusations that the company put profit before safety.

Brazilian prosecutors on Thursday charged 26 people, 21 for qualified homicide, for their alleged roles in the disaster, which sent a tidal wave of mining waste hundreds of miles through the Minas Gerais region in November 2015.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Drought in the south leaves households experiencing emergency levels of hunger, with nothing but wild fruits to eat

Nearly 850,000 people in drought-hit southern Madagascar are experiencing “alarming” levels of hunger, and more aid is needed to prevent a dire situation from becoming a “catastrophe”, UN agencies said on Thursday.

This is the latest warning by the agencies who have been scaling up their response to a crisis affecting more than half the population in the south of the island nation.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Spiders can control their web’s tension and stiffness to help them identify potential partners as well as prey, study shows

Spiders can control the tension and stiffness of their webs to optimise their sensory powers, helping them locate and identify prey as well as partners, according to researchers at Oxford University.

Much in same way that notes travel along a plucked guitar string, spider silk transmits vibrations in different frequencies, sending information back to the spider.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Rather than sweep the scandal surrounding ultrarunner Robert Young under the rug, Swiss sportswear brand Skins set an example on doing the right thing

During last week’s presidential debate, Hillary Clinton leaned on an old and appealing line. “We are great because we are good.” Reagan has used it before, as did Eisenhower. What it means, of course, is that our country’s performance advantage on the world stage comes from our willingness to do the right thing.

Businesses who market social responsibility as a selling point have been trying to make the same claim for decades. But it hasn’t been enough of a selling point. So, some savvy brands are digging deeper on what it means in practice to be great.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Correctly identifying the most important issue of our time, the actor uses his clout and his carbon footprint to travel the world and ponder the incongruities

Here is a heartfelt, decent, educational documentary about the most important issue of our time – climate change – presented by A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio, who proves his own commitment to the cause. His own interest began with an encounter with Al Gore in 2000 and has been a genuine passion with him since. DiCaprio concedes that his own celebrity status is a double-edged sword. It draws attention to the topic, but allows the naysayers to say that he is a shallow, chuckle-headed movie star and this whole issue must therefore be a fad. There are brutal Fox TV news clips to this effect.

Related: Before the Flood: Leonardo DiCaprio hopes his new film will inspire climate action

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Source: Guardian Environment