Ecology
Scientists Suggest a Giant Sunshade in the Sky Could Solve Global Warming
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction: the creation, using balloons or jets, of a manmade atmospheric sunshade to shield the most vulnerable countries in the global south against the worst effects of global warming. But amid mounting interest…
Microplastics Found in Fertilisers Being Applied to Gardens and Farmland
Many organic fertilisers being applied to gardens and farms contain tiny fragments of plastic, according to a new study. Widely considered a problem affecting the oceans, this work suggests microplastics may actually be far more pervasive. Having entered the soil,…
Victory! ‘InStyle’ Is First Major Fashion Magazine to Ban Fur
In another landmark victory for animals, InStyle has become the first major fashion magazine to ban fur from its pages. In an announcement posted to Instagram, Editor in Chief Laura Brown said that she has avoided photographing or advertising fur…
Air Pollution: UK Government’s Failed Legal Battles Cost Taxpayers £500,000
The UK government has spent more than half a million pounds on failed legal battles against clean air campaigners, according to newly released documents that underline the cost of weak action on pollution. The figures – obtained under a freedom…
Costa Rica’s New President Vows ‘Emancipation’ From Dirty Transport
Carlos Alvarado Quesada, the president-elect of Costa Rica, plans to continue the country’s extraordinary stewardship of the environment with a pledge to decarbonize its transportation sector. On Sunday, he promised that one day Costa Rica will “celebrate its emancipation from…
Climate Change and Invasive Milkweed Could Make Toxic Cocktail for Monarchs, Study Finds
Monarch butterflies are already in danger. Their numbers have decreased by 80 percent in the past 20 years, and this year’s count of the number of the black-and-orange butterflies wintering in Mexico was lower than 2017’s. Now, researched reported Tuesday…
11 US States To Challenge EPA Rollback Of 2025 Fuel-Efficiency Standards
The US EPA is pursuing a rollback of earlier plans (implemented under Obama’s presidency) to raise the new-vehicle fuel-efficiency standard to nearly 50 miles per gallon by 2025 (that would be a fleet-level requirement, not model level). In response to…