Industrial wastelands sound like grim places but many of them are refuges for some fascinating plants. A recent survey in north-east England found far more variety of plants on brownfield sites than moorlands, which you might imagine would be wilder and more natural.But the industrial sites often have a thin, nutrient poor, soil which fast growing weeds can’t tolerate, and this allows more interesting species to thrive. Continue reading...

Taiwan has institutionalized the practice of feeding leftover food to livestock, an approach that many nations are using or considering to reduce their food waste. Now, two thirds of the country’s overall food waste helps feed its 5.5m pigsEvery night, classical music blares from garbage trucks in Taipei, summoning people from their homes. In their hands, they clutch bags or buckets of kitchen scraps, which they dump into a bin on the truck. From there, the food travels to farms, where it helps ensure a good supply of one of Taiwan’s food staples.Farmers have fed leftover food to livestock for centuries, but Taiwan is one of a handful of countries that have institutionalized the practice. About two thirds of the island nation’s overall food waste, which totaled 610,000 tons last year, goes to help feed the country’s 5.5m pigs – the top meat source for the country’s 23.5 million people. Continue reading...

Europe has taken its first shipment of shale at the Swiss operator’s Norwegian plant, raising concerns about the future of shale gas and fracking in the UKThe first US shale gas sailed into Europe bringing controversy in its wake.Ineos, the chemical group, said that its own gas carrier arrived in Norway on Wednesday with 27,500 cubic metres of American ethane on board. Shipments to Ineos’s UK refinery at Grangemouth are scheduled to start later this year. Continue reading...

While most zoos in the US and Europe have moved away from cramped cages the tension between displaying captive animals and a scientific purpose persistsIt hasn’t been a great month for zoos and aquariums. Seaworld finally bowed to pressure to end its captive orca breeding program, three US zoos were criticized for secretly flying 18 elephants out of Africa and zoo keepers in Calgary accidentally killed an otter with a pair of pants, adding to a list of mistakes that includes giving a knife to a gorilla.

Carroll argues that life, from genes to ecosystems, is regulated top-down by predators – a powerful idea that can help us devise cures for disease and regenerate natural habitatsAs diagnosed by Thomas Kuhn in his classic The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), science proceeds by way of a rare shaking of the pieces into a new coherent explanatory pattern followed by a descent into increasing complexity before the next moment of clarity emerges. Watson and Crick’s DNA structure of 1953 and the genetic code of 1968 were almost indecently clear and simple for a biology that often seems to consist only of exceptions to any rule you care to formulate. It is now 15 years since the human genome sequence was announced, to huge fanfare, but the simple hopes of that time for an immediate avalanche of universal medical benefits have not yet been realised. Anyone reading the latest papers on genomics in the magazines Science and Nature must be chastened by the byzantine complexity of gene interactions being teased out by the researchers.But help is at hand. Sean Carroll is both a distinguished scientist – one of the founders of evolutionary development biology (evo-devo, to give it its jazzier name) – and one of our great science writers. His Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2005) is one of the essential books of our time, explaining for a general audience how the shapes of organisms are produced by genes. Continue reading...

Investment in low-carbon energy in Europe last year plummeted by more than half to $58bn, the lowest level in a decade, analysis showsEurope’s once world-beating clean technology industry has fallen into a rapid decline, with investment in low-carbon energy last year plummeting to its lowest level in a decade.The plunge in European fortunes comes as renewable energy is burgeoning around the world, with China in particular investing heavily. Continue reading...

Under attack from both the fungal disease ash dieback and the emerald ash borer beetle, the tree’s future looks bleak. But some experts believe there is hope – and that measures can be taken to alleviate the devastationReports that the ash tree is “set for extinction in Europe” have sent a shiver down the spine of everyone who loves and values Britain’s trees. For older readers like me, the stories are an unwelcome reminder of 40 years ago, when another familiar tree – the English elm – was devastated by Dutch Elm Disease.The new research, published in the Journal of Ecology, paints a grim picture for the future of the ash in Britain and Europe. The trees are suffering a twin-pronged attack: from ash dieback, a fungal disease also known as Chalara, and the invasive emerald ash borer beetle. It has yet to reach the UK, but is moving westwards across Europe at a frightening rate. Continue reading...

Getting celebs to take their kit off won’t change attitudes to overfishing. The public are intelligent beings, not morons who have to be bribed to pay attentionLOOK! NAKED CELEBRITIES!Did it work? Did I hook you? Don’t worry, I’m not fishing for attention; I have a genuine naked-celebs story here, and it involves large amounts of fish. Just in time for Good Friday. Continue reading...

MPs hear succession of expert witnesses pan the project, while EDF boss insists nuclear plant is good news for the UKEDF Energy has insisted it will take a decision to go ahead with new reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset but was unwilling to say exactly when despite being pressed by exasperated MPs.The French government, which owns 85% of EDF, has previously said it was aiming for the start of May but Vincent de Rivaz, the chief executive of the UK arm of EDF, was unwilling to set a timescale. Continue reading...

Decades after South Korea’s stark economic past, its startups are developing solar, wind and hydro-powered products for developing world markets

Energy efficiency and renewables are indispensable weapons in the fight against climate change, but the real challenge is keeping fossil fuel reserves in the ground

To coincide with the Farming to London March on Wednesday 23 March, we’d like to hear from farmers about what concerns you have for the future of your industryA march organised by Farmers For Action (FFA) is expected to take place in London on Wednesday. Farmers are are hoping to raise awareness of issues facing the industry in the UK.The march will start from Waterloo Place, SW1, via Trafalgar Square to Downing Street. A delegation will then present a letter to the prime minister, David Cameron outlining their concerns for the farming industry. Continue reading...

Greenland’s ice is melting, and scientists have discovered a photosynthesising microbe they believe to be responsible for accelerating the processA single species of bacteria could be about to accelerate the melting of Greenland. A photosynthesising microbe from a genus called Phormidesmis has been identified as the guilty party behind the darkening of Greenland.It glues soot and dust together to form a grainy substance known as cryoconite. As the surface darkens, the Greenland ice becomes less reflective, more likely to absorb summer sunlight and more likely to melt. Continue reading...

Stop the Cull says it has list of farmers who have signed up for next phase of cull and will name one every dayAn animal rights group that champions direct action is publishing details of farmers believed to have signed up for the next phase of the badger cull.Police are investigating how the list of landowners in Devon, one of the counties where culling may take place this year, came to be leaked. Continue reading...

Farm at centre of pollution incident co-owned by Meurig Raymond, whose organisation has lobbied to weaken environmental regulations on pollution

A pioneering scheme sees patients find solace in getting their hands dirty at their local doctor’s surgeryDespite the rain, Mary Coyne is helping Earline Hilda Castillo-Binger with the weeding. “See, Mary, these onions are coming up,” says Castillo-Binger. “And the avocado plant is doing well.” These women are not professionals, but are a new breed of gardeners who discovered their love of plants and getting their hands dirty from an unusual source: their local doctor’s surgery.The Lambeth GP Food Co-operative was launched in 2013 at Brockwell Park surgery, south London. With £160,000 in funding from the clinical commissioning group (CCG) and Lambeth council, 11 GP surgeries across the borough have turned unused outdoor space into gardens for patients to grow fruit and vegetables. GPs and nurses refer patients who are lonely and socially isolated, have a long-term condition and/or have mental health problems. Continue reading...

Thousands of plastic bottles clogging up seaside locations, along with cans, glass and crisp packets, with 3,298 pieces picked up for every kilometre cleanedThe amount of rubbish found dumped on UK beaches rose by a third last year, according to a new report.More than 8,000 plastic bottles were collected by the Marine Conservation Society’s annual beach clean-up at seaside locations from Orkney to the Channel Islands on one weekend last September. Continue reading...

Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk Boxing hares were once thought to be males competing for females, but it is usually a female defending herself from an amorous maleIt’s early, the sun has only just risen, yet already I can hear the drone of the bypass a few miles away as the rush hour traffic picks up. Every part of me is alert and awake. I can’t afford to lose focus for a moment for the horse I am on is fresh and quivering with energy.Choosing our way carefully across the tussocky meadow I allow him to pick up into a trot. I breathe in the morning air and then, less than a metre from us, a rich brown, almost reddish, shape breaks for cover. We had all but stumbled on a resting brown hare (Lepus europaeus), crouched low and nearly invisible in its form. It darts off, strong back legs propelling it up the gentle slope. Continue reading...

Australian Renewable Energy Agency will be ‘retained’ in name only after Coalition’s announcement on emerging technologiesMalcolm Turnbull’s clean energy investment announcement is part good news, part bad news, part ideological shift and part shell game.

Queensland premier announces Rainforest Reserves Australia to take over management of beleaguered Garners Beach Cassowary Rehabilitation Centre at Mission BeachA struggling Queensland cassowary centre has been saved, with the new operators looking to set up an extra facility in the state’s far north.Related: Come on Australia, it's time to save the Cassowary (even though it hates you) | First Dog on the Moon Continue reading...

Met Office record shows growing season in past 10 years is on average 29 days longer than between 1961-1990The growing season for plants has become a month longer than it was a few decades ago, Met Office figures show. In the last 10 years, the growing season, measured according to the central England temperature daily record, which stretches back hundreds of years, has been on average 29 days longer than in the period 1961-1990, the data show. And while more of the year is warm enough for plants to grow, there has also been a decline in the number of frosty days in recent decades, the Met Office said.Between 2006 and 2015, the plant growing season, which begins and ends with periods of consecutive days where daily temperatures average more than 5C (41F) and is without any five-day spells of temperatures below 5C, averaged 280 days. Continue reading...

Smallest of the Asian rhino species that number fewer than 100 in the world was captured in a wooden pit in Borneo, Indonesia, to protect and relocate itConservationists have made the first physical contact in over four decades with a Sumatran rhino in Indonesian Borneo.The smallest of the three Asian rhino species, hairy rhino numbers have plummeted to fewer than 100 on Earth due to hunting and habitat loss, with the last wild populations in Kalimantan, Borneo, and the island of Sumatra. Continue reading...

Badger Trust says leak could put proposed culling in south Devon in jeopardyPolice are investigating after a list apparently showing farmers who have signed up for the next phase of the badger cull was leaked to animal rights groups.One group that advocates direct action, Stop the Cull, has said it intends to publish the list of farmers in south Devon – one of the new areas where culling may take place later this year – once it has verified it. Continue reading...

Commissioner claims water does not contain lead, but city’s own tests from 2014 show contamination in one home as high as eight times the federal limitAftershocks of the institutional failure that left high lead levels in a Michigan city’s water supply were felt 600 miles south-east in Philadelphia on Monday, as city council members questioned whether the water department does enough to protect the public.One statement made by the city’s water commissioner Debra McCarty that Philadelphia’s water does not contain any lead would prove to be a lightning rod throughout the hearings, underscoring public doubts about water safety since the crisis in Flint, Michigan, became national news. Continue reading...

As coral bleaching threat is raised for Great Barrier Reef, experts say events show that dire projections for reefs under global warming were not alarmistAfter almost two years of coral bleaching, with some reefs bleaching twice and possibly three times since 2014, scientists have said that dire predictions of global coral decline made almost two decades ago may now be manifest.The rolling underwater heatwave has now arrived upon the Great Barrier Reef, with mass die-offs expected along the northern quarter of the world’s preeminent coral ecosystem. Continue reading...

European electronic goods study finds devices from fridge freezers and tumble driers to digital radios and vacuums using more electricity than advertisedNearly one in five fridges, dishwashers, microwaves and other household gadgets guzzle more energy than advertised according to a three-year survey of Europe’s home appliance industry.One AEG fridge freezer tested used 12% more power than claimed, while a Hotpoint tumble-drier was found to be sucking considerable power while supposedly in ‘off’ mode. Continue reading...

They’ve been around for at least 600 million years – before dinosaurs, bony fish, insects, trees, flowers or fungi – and survived five mass extinctions. Ali Benjamin tells us why she is deeply fascinated by jellyfishIn my debut novel, The Thing about Jellyfish, Suzy Swanson — an awkward, methodical 12-year-old who refuses to engage in small talk — learns that her former best friend, Franny, has drowned. Franny was a good swimmer, and no adult can sufficiently explain how something like this could happen. Desperate for answers, Suzy becomes convinced that the true cause of her friend’s death was a rare jellyfish sting. She’s determined to prove it. As Suzy researches her hypothesis, she becomes utterly obsessed with jellyfish.Related: The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin – review Continue reading...

Water summit in Washington to secure business funding for improvements to dams, canals and pipes but will stop short of replacing all domestic lead pipingThe White House has turned to the private sector in an attempt to mend America’s creaking water infrastructure system, securing $4bn in commitments from businesses and instituting a new plan to help deal with crises such as the Flint lead poisoning disaster and the California drought.The first White House water summit, to be held on Tuesday, will see more than 150 businesses and other organizations, including GE, commit funding to upgrade “critical infrastructure”, including dams, canals and water pipes. Continue reading...

Access to water is a human right, but roughly one in 10 people are without a safe source. Why not take the plunge and discover whether you’re an aquaphile or an aquaphobe? Continue reading...

Tensions are running high in Bali, with a decision due any day on a controversial land reclamation project

Nobody’s keen to fund faecal sludge management; that’s why we need public-private partnerships to pay for our water and waste disposal Continue reading...

Once-common butterfly joins a growing list of shrinking species, suggesting climate change is having greather impact than previously thoughtA tiny but unmistakably dazzling butterfly, the small copper, suffered its worst ever year last summer according to the annual scientific survey of Britain’s butterflies.The bright ginger butterfly joins a growing band of once-common butterflies in apparently inexorable decline despite no discernible habitat loss in recent years and conservationists are warning that climate change is having a greater than expected negative impact. Continue reading...

Sinderhope, Northumberland In the mist, it’s the sounds that are most acute after months of silenceWith the rough texture of a drystone wall behind my back, I perch on a flat stone and look over the high field.I can’t see much of the valley since it’s fogged by low cloud. This sharpens my other senses and I become aware of the damp, of the smell of earth and leaves and rain-soaked grass. Continue reading...