What’s Going On Here? The global coronavirus pandemic highlights the link between ecological destruction and the increased risk of new diseases. What Does This Mean? Approximately 70% of emerging (new) diseases are thought to be ‘zoonotic’ in origin, meaning they were originally from animals, also known as ‘spillover’. It is suspected that the new coronavirus passed from wild animals at a live animal or ‘wet’ market…
What’s Going On Here? Initial data from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) estimates that levels of atmospheric methane, a gas that is 80x more powerful than CO2, has reached record levels. What Does This Mean? Methane, or CH4 to any keen chemists, is a greenhouse gas. It is only present in the atmosphere for 10 years, (as opposed to CO2 that can stay for…
What’s Going On Here? What with all of the current Covid- 19 media coverage, world leaders and other politicians have been behaving verrryy sneakily, removing or avoiding important environmental legislation… What Does This Mean? Last week, it was announced that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (an independent executive agency of the government) will not enforce any environmental protection measures as of 26th March.…
What’s Going On Here? The Covid-19 crisis has cost the aviation industry $880 billion worldwide. But as governments scramble to bailout airlines, environmental campaigners are asking for strict conditions on the industry’s future climate impact before taxpayer’s money is handed out. What Does This Mean? Aviation has all but ceased in many countries (follow this dramatic decline in air traffic is being…
What’s Going On Here? Scientists have recently discovered a bacterium that not only feeds off toxic unrecyclable plastic, but uses it as food to fuel the process! What Does This Mean? The bacterium ‘Pseudomonas sp. TDA1’ was discovered at a waste dump site where it was found to be breaking down polyurethane, a very common yet difficult to recycle plastic used in the production…
What’s Going On Here? Sales of vegetable seeds have shot up during the coronavirus outbreak as people take up home gardening during the lockdown. Last weekend seed sellers across the country were overwhelmed, claiming three weeks’ worth of seeds were purchased in just one day! What Does This Mean? Perhaps this enforced self-isolation has a few silver linings, as individuals begin to cultivate…
Donald Trump’s ecological policies are probably best outlined by the US Mexico border wall. The US border wall with Mexico was a cornerstone of Donald Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign. The US Mexico border stretches for 1,954 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and 1,000 miles of it is set to be ‘secured’ by the wall. The other half…
What’s Going On Here? A new study published in Nature: Sustainability shows that electric vehicles (EVs) produce up to 70% less CO2 than their petrol counterparts, across their entire life-cycle. What Does This Mean? Whilst this may seem obvious to us curious.readers, in recent years there have been many detractors claiming that ‘the production of electricity and their manufacture outweighs the environmental benefits.’ Scientists from…
What’s Going On Here? Surprise surprise…the greenest way to read is by borrowing books from libraries, sharing them with friends and donating those you’ve already read! What Does This Mean? With all this time on our hands (don’t worry I won’t be mentioning the C word), I’m sure a lot of us are intending to read more. Indeed, what better time to…