Researchers have found that the plastic mulch used to support the growth of Californian strawberries sheds large quantities of plastic mulch fragments. These particles have been shown to negatively impact soil qualities, casting doubt on the long-term viability of their use. The findings from the survey are likely to apply world-wide to plastic use in...
Tag: Environment
Polishing off Plastic Pollution?
Polishing off Plastic Pollution? “There’s a great future in plastics.” The iconic line, advice to a fresh-from-college ingenue played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 film The Graduate, was intended for laughs. But in 2023, it highlights a grim reality. The world’s economies generate roughly 400 million tons of plastic waste each year. And only nine percent...
Why older people are some of those worst affected by climate change
Why older people are some of those worst affected by climate change. While we are all affected to some extent by extreme weather, it is older adults. Especially older women and those with disabilities, who tend to be the most vulnerable. Their struggle is partly determined by age but also by pre-existing health conditions, mental wellbeing, and social and...
A New Age of Water is Dawning
We’re living in a pivotal moment in history, on the cusp of either sinking into a dark period of growing poverty, accelerating ecological destruction, and worsening conflict, or moving forward to a new age of equity, sustainability, and stewardship of the only planet in the universe where we know life exists. I believe a positive...
COP28 President’s Oil Company: Emissions by 2050 to Rival China’s
LONDON, 15th July 2023 – COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber’s company plans to produce oil and gas that when burned for energy will emit more than 11 billion tonnes of CO2 – not far short of China’s annual emissions – a Global Witness analysis of industry production data shows. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC),...
The politics, economics and science of climate change
Climate change is one of the most daunting challenges of our times. It is undoubtedly an existential threat to human survival on the planet. Despite large-scale efforts over the past few decades, awareness on the subject is still limited, and hampered by political, economic, social and cultural considerations.Former US Vice President Al Gore’s documentary film...
Nature at risk of breakdown if Cop15 pledges not met, world leaders warned
Author of landmark UK review into the economic value of nature joins UN environment chief in calls for ‘action, not just words’ on biodiversity goals Humans are exploiting nature beyond its limits, the University of Cambridge economist Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta has warned, as the UN’s environment chief calls on governments to make good on...
Battle Lines Harden Over Big Oil’s Role at Climate Talks in Dubai
Battle Lines Harden Over Big Oil’s Role at Climate Talks in Dubai. Sultan al-Jaber leads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as well as the COP28 climate talks coming this November. An unavoidable tension surrounds this year’s United Nations-sponsored climate talks in November: They will take place in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, and the...