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Experts hope research can create greener methods of extracting the metal vital for renewable energy revolution and boom in electrical devices
It is the key ingredient of bronze, the alloy that helped create some of the world’s greatest civilisations and took humanity out of the stone age on its way to modern times. For good measure, the metal is invaluable for electrical wiring, plumbing and industrial machinery. We owe a lot to copper.
But the metal now faces an uncertain future as manufacturers prepare to expand its use to make the electric cars, renewable power plants and other devices that will help the planet move towards net zero. Unrestricted extraction could cause widespread ecological devastation, scientists have warned.
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Melting Antarctic ice is releasing cold, fresh water into the ocean, which is projected to cause the slowdown
In a high emissions future, the world’s strongest ocean current could slow down by 20% by 2050, further accelerating Antarctic ice sheet melting and sea level rise, an Australian-led study has found.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current – a clockwise current more than four times stronger than the Gulf Stream that links the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans – plays a critical role in the climate system by influencing the uptake of heat and carbon dioxide in the ocean and preventing warmer waters from reaching Antarctica.
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Every year, volunteers brave the icy Tuel Lane lock in West Yorkshire to clear leaves, litter – and pickled onions
It is said that an imitation Rolex watch was once found during the spring clean of the UK’s deepest canal lock. Today the most glamorous discoveries are a Tesco shopping trolley and an empty can of Sprite – but spirits are still high.
“I did once come across a full jar of pickled onions,” said Maureen Readle, a volunteer. “But that was a bit further up. Here it is mostly leaves.”
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Sudden stratospheric warming event expected to develop in next two weeks and will probably weaken the jet stream
A sudden stratospheric warming event is expected to develop over the next two weeks, leading to a rapid collapse of the polar vortex.
This will be the second and probably final disruption of the polar vortex this winter in the northern hemisphere, the first having taken place earlier last month, which was associated with a severe cold spell across much of the eastern half of the US.
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Australia has a huge of diversity of worms on land, sand and sea such as the giant Gippsland earthworm which can stretch up to 3 metres
One of the world’s largest worms might escape notice, if not for the loud gurgling noises that can be heard coming from underground as the species burrows and squelches through its moist clay.
The giant Gippsland earthworm, a purple and pink colossus that lives in a small, wet patch about 100km east of Melbourne in south-east Australia, reportedly stretches as long as 2 to 3 metres.
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Microplastics can’t be avoided completely, but even small steps in the right direction can help significantly
On a recent trip to New Orleans, the king cake baby became, for me, a symbol of plastic’s ubiquity in the food system. King cakes are a beloved Mardi Gras season sweet, and when bakers are done cooking them, they hide a small plastic baby in each. Whoever gets a slice with the baby in it receives good luck in the coming year.
I write about toxic chemicals for a living, so when I learned about the tradition, I let out a small groan while estimating how many microplastics the baby must be shedding into the cake.
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As the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life study found Hindus are at the forefront of environmental activism, British Hindu, Muslim, and Christian participants discuss how they reconcile faith and the environment
Does belief in God make you more environmentally friendly? It depends on which God you believe in.
That’s the conclusion of new research by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL), which found that British Hindus lead the way in environmental action compared with other faith groups.
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In her second novel Elegy, Southwest, the Australian author writes into the climate crisis from a millennial perspective with a mixed sense of melancholy and hope
There is a hole in the heart of Madeleine Watts’ melancholic second novel Elegy, Southwest. “A really big, and expensive, hole,” says Lewis, one half of the married couple whose desert road trip forms the novel’s narrative arc. The hole, a land artwork in progress, is titled “Negative Capability” after “a quality that Keats believed the best artists possessed: the ability to stay open to doubt and uncertainty”. It’s a quality Watts has in spades.
“My general personality is to go up close to the thing that makes me sad or frightened. I go up close and tinker around and it feels like I gain a modicum of control. It doesn’t necessarily feel cathartic but I’ve done something,” the Australian author says.
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With a beauty that belies its name, the sea slug is an invertebrate that reminds me of a happy Scottish summer
It has been a long time since I’ve thought about nudibranchs, let alone spotted one. But a lifetime ago, as a zoology undergraduate at Glasgow University, I spent hours underwater, swimming through kelp forests, corals and shipwrecks, looking out for the tiny, colourful creatures.
Diving on the west coast of Scotland is spectacular for all the reasons you might expect: the drama of the islands, bays and meandering sea lochs against the mountains, the rugged rocky shores, the awe-inspiring wildness.
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Early mornings, razor-like broken window panes, private property restrictions and territorial fellow recycling collectors – it’s all in a day’s work for a growing cohort of elderly Australians
Liz Lee peers into a recycling bin, laughs and slams the lid shut.
The 79-year-old has struck gold: the bin is three-quarters full of empty cans, each representing a 10 cent refund at recycling collection points. She reopens the bin and reaches in, passing each can to her friend, Julie Griffin, 63.
Continue reading...Four weeks of hearings will look at the purchase of billions of pounds of medical equipment in the pandemic.
Charity report finds seven-month average wait for families of children with cancer to access benefits.
The UK death rate reached a record low last year, according to exclusive analysis of death certificate data carried out for BBC News.
Amanda Pritchard's exit comes as the government moves to assert more direct over healthcare.
It gives general practices a big funding boost, as well as reducing red tape and targets.
Creon, a pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, helps digestion but stocks are desperately low.
A coroner says the public is being misled over what an NHS physician associate does.
A different strain of the winter vomiting virus is now on the rise, UK health experts say.
Covid inquiry says hearings into the firm, led by Michelle Mone's husband, must be held in closed session.
Emma found out she had a little-known condition and "wasn't obese" after watching a reality show.
Recent news provides a grim affirmation of Conservation International research — and underscores what must happen next.
One of the world’s most important places for nature is a small strip of mountainous forest no more than about 40 miles wide. And for want of a relatively small amount of money, its long-term health is in doubt.
Conservation International science fuels effort to help island countries manage a deep shift in their waters.
In Kenya, competition for food leads to conflict between livestock and wildlife. A new study offers a simple approach to avoiding it.
An interview highlights a spate of new roles for the Hollywood actor — and one old one, characterized by his trademark steadfastness.
Yes, it’s easy to feel despondent. The planet is overheating and nature is declining at unprecedented rates. But environmental chaos is not inevitable. Conservation International experts share why they have hope for our Earth — and why you should, too.
The Indonesian government has granted six species of threatened “walking sharks” the highest level of protection — a move experts hope will lead to the conservation of other sharks, whose numbers have plummeted due largely to the shark fin trade.
The catastrophic impacts of climate breakdown may soon outpace humanity’s ability to adapt to it, according to a new report.
Costa Rica announced Friday that it will expand its protected ocean area from 2.7 percent to more than 30 percent of its territorial waters.
Earth is teetering perilously close to a tipping point — but it’s not too late to bring us back from the edge, says Conservation International’s Chief Scientist Johan Rockström in a new Netflix film.
