Ecology
Indonesia Hops Aboard Plastic Cleanup with Bus Bottle Scheme
Surabaya’s recycling incentive scheme allows trash to be traded for tickets. The Indonesian city of Surabaya is now offering free bus rides in exchange for handing in used plastic bottles and cup. The country’s second-largest city has launched the recycling incentive scheme,…
Beijing Air Pollution Mystery Could Be Solved, Scientists Say
More than one million people die each year in China from particulate matter air pollution, but despite 15 years and billions of dollars of efforts to clean up the country’s air, dangerous winter smog persists. Now, an international team of scientists think they…
Climate Change Is Exacerbating World Conflicts, Says Red Cross President
Climate change is already exacerbating domestic and international conflicts, and governments must take steps to ensure it does not get worse, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has said. Peter Maurer told Guardian Australia it was already…
Plastic Straws and Cotton Buds Could Be Banned in England in a Year
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has launched a consultation on the proposals. Plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds could be banned within a year in England under government plans to reduce pollution. Environment Secretary Michael Gove has launched a consultation…
Cherry Blossoms Are Blooming Across Japan: It’s October
Each year, Japan’s iconic cherry blossoms herald the arrival of spring. But after a bout of extreme weather, blooms are being reported several months early. The Japanese weather site Weathernews said it had received more than 350 reports of blossoms…
90% of Table Salt Is Contaminated with Mircroplastics
A year after researchers at a New York university discovered microplastics present in sea salt thanks to widespread plastic pollution, researchers in South Korea set out to find out how pervasive the problem is—and found that 90 percent of salt brands commonly…
I’m the Walrus … Suffering from Melting Ice
One of the most iconic images depicting the environmental impacts of climate change shows a forlorn polar bear being stranded, or so it appears, on a floating chunk of ice among melting sheets. As polar ice will carry on melting…