I’ve relearned the meaning of seasonality – and how fragile the natural systems that sustain us really are
A few months ago, when I received an email about an available allotment in my area, I struggled to remember when I had signed up for one. It turns out I had done so two years ago, fuelled by my envy for those with gardens during lockdown. Back then, all I wanted was a small bit of outdoor space that felt like my own, to plant flowers, herbs and, at a push, some chillies. A place where I could read and write in the sun, safe from distractions.
Now I was being presented a half plot of available land (125 square metres!) with an established apple tree in the middle – which I mistook for a cherry because of its pink blossom. “You’ll have to have a trial period, to see how you get on,” the woman showing me around said. She meant business. The plot, which was bigger than I could dream of, was beautiful but overgrown – getting it started would require proper graft. I wasn’t sure I had it in me.
Diyora Shadijanova is a journalist and writer
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/22/2024 - 02:00
08/22/2024 - 01:00
Permits for coal-fired power plants drop by 83% despite leading world in construction as focus turns to renewables
Coal-fired power is still enjoying a construction boom in China, but a marked slowdown in the permitting of future plants has given experts hope that the world’s biggest emitter may be turning a corner.
China led the world in the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the first half of 2024, with work beginning on more than 41GW of new generation capacity, data published on Thursday showed.
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08/22/2024 - 00:18
Sea Life Sydney Aquarium keeper describes the unique and ‘very beautiful’ singing scene that unfolded as Sphen’s partner, Magic, and the gentoo colony were taken to see Sphen
There wasn’t a dry eye among staff at Sydney’s Sea Life Aquarium as Magic and his fellow gentoo penguins cried out, mourning the loss of Sphen in an emotional scene never before witnessed by employees.
Sphen, whose same-sex love story with Magic made the couple globally famous, appeared to die of natural causes as he approached his 12th birthday, the aquarium confirmed on Thursday morning.
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08/22/2024 - 00:00
An associate professor in marine biology explains her fascination with the surprisingly diverse animals – and how they could help to address the climate crisis
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I found my first encounter with sea worms a little terrifying. I got into studying them because I was fascinated by a question: how can something as simple as a worm living in the mud in an estuary in Newcastle know exactly what day of the year it is, so that the whole population is able to reproduce on the same day?
So in the first days of my PhD, I visited a worm farm in Newcastle where they were growing worms to sell as fishing bait.
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08/21/2024 - 23:00
Satellite image analysis shows 329 hectares of forest cleared during development of factory in Germany
The development of a Tesla gigafactory near Berlin has resulted in about 500,000 trees being felled, according to satellite analysis.
The building of the German factory has been highly controversial and attracted significant protests, as well as prompting a debate about the trade-offs involved in developing a green economy.
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08/21/2024 - 23:00
How the five-year real-life friendship between a retired Brazilian fisher and Magellanic penguin became a movie
The film My Penguin Friend has two main characters – one played by a Hollywood star and the other by a newcomer – but there was no doubt on set about who should be the most pampered.
The first-timer had a “trailer” with a natural saltwater pool and only worked until 3pm. To keep the star from being bitten by a mosquito from the tropical Brazilian beach, a flamethrower would clear the path before and after each scene.
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08/21/2024 - 20:00
Simulated study shows southern ecosystems could be compromised by objects from South Africa, South America, New Zealand and Australia as global heating continues
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Antarctic ecosystems could be disrupted by animals, diseases and rubbish floating from Africa and Australia as rising temperatures melt sea ice buffers, new research suggests.
The study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, used a simulation of ocean currents to track the paths of virtual objects released from different locations.
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08/21/2024 - 18:01
Woodland Trust’s competition comes as charity campaigns for more robust legal protection for precious trees
An oak tree shaped like an elephant and the oak with the widest girth in the UK have been shortlisted for the annual Tree of the Year competition.
The Woodland Trust runs the annual competition to raise awareness of the UK’s ancient and at-risk trees.
Marton oak, CheshireSessile oak (quercus petraea) / Approximate age: 1,200 years / Girth: 14.02 metres.
Bowthorpe oak, LincolnshireEnglish oak (quercus robur) / Estimated age: 1000 years / Girth: 13.38 metres.
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08/21/2024 - 17:30
Countries in south most at risk, with rise likely to outstrip fall in cold-related deaths if global heating hits 3C or 4C
Heat deaths in Europe could triple by the end of the century, with the numbers rising disproportionately in southern European countries such as Italy, Greece and Spain, a study has found.
Cold kills more people than heat in Europe, and some have argued that climate change will benefit society by reducing those deaths. But the study, published in the Lancet Public Health, found that the death toll would respond slowly to warming weather and may even rise through people growing older and more vulnerable to dangerous temperatures.
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08/21/2024 - 16:30
Researchers say public health officials not doing enough to share warnings and safety information with health workers
Wildfires pose serious risks to pregnant people and their developing fetuses, including low birth weight and preterm birth. But public health officials are not doing nearly enough to keep these vulnerable populations safe, according to a new report.
“While we know that wildfires are continuing to intensify in the US, and we’re increasingly clear on what damages wildfires represent to maternal and newborn health, we’re still not seeing the kind of response from policymakers and public health officials that we need,” said Skye Wheeler, a researcher at Human Rights Watch and one of the report’s authors.
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