Ecology and Environment

Germany is home to 83 million people. But that isn’t the country’s total population: It’s also home to about 27 million pigs, 12.6 million cattle, and nearly 40 million egg-producing hens. Their lives are very hard. Many of these animals…

Human Wrongs Watch By Monique Barbut*,  Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification  WINDHOEK, Aug 18 2016 (IPS) – Let us start with some good news.  Sort of.  The strongest El Niño in 35 years is coming…

Hinkley Point C nuclear power station has been on the cards for more than 15 years to be built in Somerset, England by French state run EDF with the addition of Chinese capital. The cost has been spiralling up and…

By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan The first marathon, legend has it, occurred in ancient Greece in 490 B.C. The Athenians had repelled an invasion by the Persians, and a messenger was dispatched to run from the scene of the…

Neonicotinoids, a widely used class of insecticide, are suspected of harming honeybee populations. But there is growing evidence that they might also have detrimental effects on other important pollinators. Researchers believe neonicotinoids might at least in part be responsible for…

Japan has restarted a nuclear reactor despite a court challenge by local residents. The atomic plant was one of dozens shut down in wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Plant operator Shikoku Electric Power said Friday it switched on the…

Human Wrongs Watch By Baher Kamal* ROME, 11 August 2016 (IPS) – “No one can deny the terrible similarities between those running from the threat of guns and those fleeing creeping desertification, water shortages, floods and hurricanes.” Hardly a short,…

Human Wrongs Watch By Baher Kamal* ROME, 10 August 2016 (IPS) – Two-thirds of the African continent is already desert or dry-lands. But while this vast extension of the second largest continent on Earth after Asia is “vital” for agriculture…

Human Wrongs Watch By Baher Kamal* ROME, 8 August 2016 (IPS) – Can African farmers feed the world?. Apparently the answer is “yes.” Bold as it may sound, this statement is based on specific facts: Africa is home to 60-65…

By Rebecca Johnson 30 July 2016 for Open Democracy The stories of people trying to revive abandoned villages left contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster raise concerns about plans for a new generation of nuclear power reactors in Britain, starting…