insert_link Environment Why you shouldn’t take pebbles from the beach – here’s the science Mr.Teerapong Kunkaeo / shutterstock By Joseph Earl, Lancaster University and Suzana Ilic, Lancaster University Cumberland Council in the north of England has announced that people taking pebbles from beaches will now face fines of up to £1,000. Many people found the announcement frustrating, but preventing erosion is critical, as research shows. For many people, visiting the beach brings back joyful childhood memories. It is easy to forget that […] todayMay 22, 2024 37
insert_link Environment Venomous snakes could start migrating in large numbers if we hit 5ºC warming By Pablo Ariel Martinez, Universidade Federal de Sergipe A global group of scientists has predicted that climate change may cause dramatic movements in venomous snake populations across many countries in Africa. The scientists took into account climate change predictions about changes to the current habitats of 209 venomous snakes, and mapped where those environments were found elsewhere. Based on this, they predict that snakes were likely to migrate […] todayMarch 28, 2024 73
insert_link Environment We’re losing species faster than we can find them De Winton’s Golden Mole, found in June 2021. Photo courtesy of JP Le Roux. By Liz Kimbrough via Mongabay “We did it!” Doka Nason shouted as he stared at the screen of a camera trap in Papua New Guinea. He and his team had just captured a long-sought image: that of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis). Believed to be extinct, this rare ground-dwelling bird was photographed as part of […] todayFebruary 28, 2024 25
insert_link Environment Why understanding limits is the key to humanity’s future Illustration by Kelsey King By Richard Heinberg, @richardheinberg via Ensia We need to view limits not as restrictions to be fought against, but as boundaries that enable systems to work. Recent news articles about a breakthrough in nuclear fusion research heralded the potential for “limitless” energy. Whenever I read that word limitless I wince. The promise of limitlessness is misleading and sometimes deadly. Limits exist everywhere in nature. They enable the functioning of systems […] todayNovember 29, 2023 7