What are heat resistant plants and how can they help prevent a food crisis?
A research team at US and Chinese universities say they have discovered a way to help plants survive extreme heat. With agricultural crops around the world threatened by rising temperatures, this research could help plants resist climate change. If the…
UK energy bills to drop next year thanks to record-breaking investment in renewables
It’s been eclipsed by the Prime Minster’s resignation, but the UK government made a significant green energy announcement today. Britain’s latest round of awards to renewable energy suppliers gave contracts to solar, wind and tidal projects capable of generating a…
Finland is aiming to go carbon negative by 2040 – here’s how
Finland will be the first European country to reach net zero if it meets ambitious climate targets passed into law by the government. The Nordic nation aims to meet this goal by 2035 but is taking its environmental action one…
I planted a giant sequoia tree and offset the carbon footprint of my entire life
I never thought I would be able to offset the carbon footprint of my whole lifetime, in one day. Until I met Henry Emson. Henry runs a pioneering project called ‘One Life, One Tree’, where ordinary people can plant giant…
How the bacteria in an all-sugar diet could bring the aviation industry closer to net-zero
By Charlotte Elton • Updated: 05/07/2022Forget fossil fuel travel – airplanes could one day run on sugar-munching bacteria. Conventional jet fuel is created by burning fossil fuels like oil and gas, generating a mammoth carbon footprint. But a tiny common…
Dolphin poo plays ‘significant role’ in helping coral reefs survive, says new study
Dolphin poo could be the key to saving the world’s coral reefs, according to a new study. Spinner dolphins, famous for their acrobatic marina displays, have some very special excrement. Their poo has “reef-enhancing nutrients” which are not to be…
‘Sand batteries’ could be key breakthrough in storing solar and wind energy year-round
Solar energy stored in ‘sand batteries’ could help get Finns through the long cold winter, which is set to be even tougher after Russia stopped its gas and electricity supplies. The new technology has been devised by young Finnish engineers…
Sunflowers and dried mangoes are the key to surviving climate change in rural Zimbabwe
One afternoon in Mupindi Village, Gokwe South, more than 400 kilometres from Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, a smallholder farmer called Bernard Mupindi is pruning the rough, hairy triangular leaves that grow around the stem of a sunflower. The blooming yellow sunflowers…
These Scottish villagers bought a nature reserve – now they are fundraising to double its size
Villagers behind one of Scotland’s biggest community land buyouts are hoping to double the size of their new nature reserve to more than 4,000 hectares. Langholm, near Gretna Green on the English border, raised £3.8 million (€4.5 million) last year….
World’s largest vertical farm is being built in the UK and it’s the size of 96 tennis courts
The world’s largest vertical farm is being built to help end the UK’s reliance on imported foods. British retailers already get almost a third of their fresh basil from the team at Jones Food Company (JFC). It is grown, alongside…