Ecology
World’s Largest Desert Growing Even Larger, Partly Due to Climate Change
The Sahara Desert—which takes up about 3.6 million square miles of northern Africa—is growing ever larger, signaling daunting news for people living in the Sahel border region who stand to lose valuable arable land to the expanding desert. The boundaries…
How Smartphones Are Heating Up the Planet
When we think about climate change, the main sources of carbon emissions that come to mind for most of us are heavy industries like petroleum, mining and transportation. Rarely do we point the finger at computer technologies. In fact, many…
Coffee’s Environmental Footprint Should Be Harder to Swallow Than Dubious Cancer Claims
Coffee is not only my favorite drink, it’s a necessity (I get headaches from caffeine withdrawal). Even after a California judge decided this week that coffee should come with a cancer warning, my immediate response was to take another sip.…
Pollution Sources Have Increased More Than 50% In Last 8 Years, China’s Environment Ministry Reports
In relation to a new nationwide survey meant to ascertain the amount of environmental damage done by the last 30 years of rapid growth, China’s environment ministry has revealed that the number of pollution sources within the country has increased…
Sensors Equipped with AI Could Thwart Illegal Deforestation
Abstractly, we know that the world’s forests are under threat. We lose somewhere between 80,000 and 150,000 square kilometers — about the size of Maine in the best case scenario, and Louisiana in the worst — of the world’s forests…
UK To Introduce Deposit Return Scheme For Single-Use Plastic Bottles
A deposit return scheme for single-use plastic drink bottles will be introduced this year in the UK, with the idea being to improve the rate of plastic bottle recycling and thus to reduce litter. The new plans echo some of…
Reports: McDonald’s to Pilot Alternatives to Plastic Straws
McDonald’s has become the latest big name brand to step up efforts to tackle plastic waste, revealing it is to trial more sustainable alternatives to plastic straws and is closing in on ensuring 100 per cent of its packaging is…