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Prof Tim Lang says country produces far less food than it needs to feed population and is particularly vulnerable
The British government should be stockpiling food, according to a leading expert on food policy, as it is not prepared for climate shocks or wars that could cause the population to starve.
Prof Tim Lang of City St George’s, University of London said the UK produced far less food than it needed to feed itself, and as a small island that relied on a few large companies to feed its giant population, it was particularly vulnerable to shocks.
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Researchers identify sharp rise to about 0.35C every decade, after excluding natural fluctuations such as El Niño
Humanity is heating the planet faster than ever before, a study has found.
Climate breakdown is occurring more rapidly with the heating rate almost doubling, according to research that excludes the effect of natural factors behind the latest scorching temperatures.
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First of the trusts, formed with 12 people in a Norfolk pub in 1926, buys swath of farmland to restore to nature
The place where Norton Wood once stood is now a vast field of decaying wheat stubble. The ancient wood was grubbed up during the second world war. No trace of it remains – on the surface, at least. This ghost in the landscape lives on only in the name of the local village: Wood Norton.
But trees will soon be bursting upwards again and the wood will regrow after Norfolk Wildlife Trust celebrated its 100th birthday by buying a swath of farmland to revive for nature.
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Buxton, Derbyshire: Their ‘parents’ were planted 50 years ago by my wonderful late mother. Yet we all have a connection to these uplifting flowers
I wonder if nature has found a way to compensate us for the dreariest winter I can recall, because the snowdrops this year have been unbelievable. I’m seeing them everywhere – along road verges, on village greens, with vast white sheets across churchyards and especially in old gardens with driveways and mature trees around their margins.
I have a small snowdrop patch under our crab apple and while they’re modest in number, they are, in a way, more than flowers. My mother first planted those same bulbs (or their “parents”) in her garden, which is half a mile from here, in the 1970s. When she died a decade ago, I took them first to our old house and now to this property. I’d actually forgotten the last transfer: a scoop of both the bulbs and surrounding soil, a short car journey, then a hasty reinterment in a hole on this south-facing slope. Now here they all are, up in the light, sparkling and brimful of this seasonal moment, but also laden with memories of my wonderful Ma and her love of gardens. In a way, her snowdrops are now family.
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New European Code Against Cancer calls on politicians to phase out use of fossil fuels in homes
Cutting air pollution should form part of government strategies to reduce cancer rates, the European Code Against Cancer has recommended.
The code previously focused on advice to help people to reduce the air pollution that they breathe. But, for the first time since its launch in 1987, it has given clear direction to governments.
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Photographer Murdo MacLeod patrols the snow with members of the Scottish Avalanche Information Service, which has for several decades published a vital daily avalanche forecast for mountain areas
Scottish avalanches are back. More than 200 have been recorded this winter, against the previous year’s record low of 42. The worst season for fatalities was 2012-13 when eight people died, four of whom were buried in deep snow when an avalanche struck without warning while they descended Glen Coe’s Bidean nam Bian.
Fortunately, so far – despite one person being carried a distance down Ben Nevis and two people falling through cornices and triggering slips – there have not been any confirmed avalanche deaths, though one person is still missing on Ben Nevis. The search goes on in and around the sites of recent avalanches.
A mountain rescue team looks for a missing climber in Observatory Gully on the north face of Ben Nevis, an area where there has been a succession of avalanches
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The 55 pilot whales, which had to be euthanised, had been following a female having a difficult birth, scientists believe
The mass stranding and death of 55 whales on the Isle of Lewis in 2023 was caused by the mammals’ loyalty to their pod, a report has concluded.
It had been thought that the unusually large incident on Tràigh Mhòr beach, Tolsta, could have been caused by trauma, disease or acoustic disturbance from military or industrially generated noise.
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Plastic, textiles, e-waste and more end up at the vast Dandora site, where waste pickers spend all hours sifting through toxic debris looking for recyclables
On my journey documenting environmental stories in Kenya, I attended the Africa Climate Summit in 2023. It ignited a deeper exploration into the lives of waste pickers, revealing a glaring omission in global recycling narratives: the invisibility of these essential workers.
Living and working in Nairobi, I immersed myself in Dandora, the largest dump in Kenya, spanning more than 12 hectares (30 acres) near the Nairobi River and receiving an estimated 2,000 tonnes of industrial and domestic waste daily. For months I witnessed first-hand how waste is devastating local ecosystems and human lives. Kenya’s waste streams are now overwhelmed by single-use plastics from companies shifting the burden on to informal workers.
Pre-sorting has reduced the amount of recylables in the waste brought by truck to Dandora
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Developers argue that eco-tourism helps ‘underfunded’ parks but former Greens leader Bob Brown says the idea of wilderness lodges is an ‘oxymoron’
When the Gardens of Stone in the Blue Mountains was declared a state conservation area in 2022, it should have been cause of great celebration for Keith Muir. Instead, the plans put forward by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) for the nature reserve make him weep.
“The geology is spectacular,” he says of the nature reserve. “The pagoda landforms are sculptured natural artworks, that is the only way to describe them. They are symphonies in stone.”
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Many Australians are choosing oat, almond and soy over cow’s milk – but which choice is the most sustainable?
Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint
Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com
Oat cap, skinny flat white, almond chai, soy matcha. Everyone has a different milk preference: cow, skim, lactose-free, oat, almond, soy, goat or camel.
Milk choices may be due to environmental reasons, dietary concerns or just taste preferences.
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