Ecology
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Pesticides Have Accumulated in European Soil
Pesticides and weed killers have their benefits. They are beneficial in reducing or eliminating pests that damage or destroy crops. Yet they can wreak havoc with entire ecosystems. Worse: their effects can linger long after their use has ceased. Just…
China Starts Solid-State Battery Production
Chinese startup Qing Tao Energy Development claims it has started producing solid-state batteries in the city of Kunshan in the east of the country. The firm says it has already invested 1 billion yuan (£113m) in developing the technology and…
Climate Change Hits the UK: Summers Could Be 5.4°C Hotter by 2070
Summers in the UK could be up to 5.4°C warmer by 2070, according to new data published by the Met Office. It warns of significant temperature rises in the coming decades in its “most comprehensive picture yet” of how climate…
Air Pollution Cuts Two Years off the Average World Life Expectancy
We already knew that air pollution had officially become the world’s biggest killer. Now, an Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) analysis by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago has found just that air pollution will cut the…
Plastic Straws to Disappear from Legoland, Madame Tussauds, and Sea Life Attractions
Merlin Entertainments, the UK operator of top tourist draws such as Legoland, Madame Tussauds, and Sea Life, has pledged to phase out plastic straws at all of its owned attractions worldwide by the end of 2018. The company, which is…
Palm Oil Bar Codes Launched to Help Consumers Spot Unsustainable Supply Chain
Social enterprise Giki has created a ‘palm oil detector’ to help shoppers identify products made with sustainable palm oil. Shoppers concerned about fuelling deforestation on their supermarket trips can now take advantage of a new tool to help them spot…
Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Hits Highest Rate in 10 Years
About 7,900 square kilometers (3,050 square miles) of forest was cleared in the Brazilian Amazon between August 2017 and July 2018, the worst annual deforestation rate in a decade, according to government data. That’s a 13.7 percent jump from the same period last year. As Greenpeace…