http://blogs.independent.co.uk| Blogs from the Independent newspaper - news, views and features from the world's most free-thinking newspaper| Fri, 24 May 2013 15:31:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2| en hourly 1 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/28/where-are-the-young-naturalists-these-days-the-next-generation-of-conservationists/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/28/where-are-the-young-naturalists-these-days-the-next-generation-of-conservationists/#comments Fri, 28 Dec 2012 04:00:55 +0000 Peter Cooper http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=31105 Where are the young naturalists these days? Their scarcity has become increasingly apparent in recent years, and so worrying that the National Trust published a paper focused entirely on the issue, and was discussed in grave concern by both Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/28/where-are-the-young-naturalists-these-days-the-next-generation-of-conservationists/feed/ 7 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/are-coral-reefs-really-doomed/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/are-coral-reefs-really-doomed/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2012 05:02:57 +0000 Ben Goldfarb http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=26929 Earlier this month the New York Times published an op-ed by Australian ecologist Roger Bradbury entitled “A World Without Coral Reefs.” Bradbury’s article makes a frightening claim: the planet’s reefs are doomed, sentenced to death by overfishing, pollution, and acidification caused by the ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/are-coral-reefs-really-doomed/feed/ 4 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/23/we-shouldnt-simply-try-to-change-peoples-values-when-it-comes-to-the-environment/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/23/we-shouldnt-simply-try-to-change-peoples-values-when-it-comes-to-the-environment/#comments Mon, 23 Jul 2012 00:00:46 +0000 Tony Juniper http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=26593 For more than four decades the front lines of environmental campaigning have been located in the worlds of politics and technology. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/23/we-shouldnt-simply-try-to-change-peoples-values-when-it-comes-to-the-environment/feed/ 52 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/14/women-in-science-unexpected-aliens/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/14/women-in-science-unexpected-aliens/#comments Sat, 14 Jul 2012 03:00:41 +0000 Heather Whitney http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=26369 For those of you who have watched James Cameron’s Avatar, if you cast your mind back you might remember that in this film a well-informed fantastical ecology was created, with many of its constituent animals and plants showing utterly alien traits, such as six-legged elephant-horses, and bizarre iridescent blue plants.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/14/women-in-science-unexpected-aliens/feed/ 4 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/03/spain-burns-as-global-temperatures-rise/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/03/spain-burns-as-global-temperatures-rise/#comments Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:29:18 +0000 Katherine Rowland http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25910 The Spanish city of Valencia sits under a blanket of ash, as two converging fires continue to devour the eastern coast of the country. Since the blaze ignited last week, more than 45,000 hectares of land have been destroyed, forcing upwards of 2,000 people to flee their homes.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/03/spain-burns-as-global-temperatures-rise/feed/ 17 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/reduce-and-reuse-%e2%80%93-have-we-come-full-cycle/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/reduce-and-reuse-%e2%80%93-have-we-come-full-cycle/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2012 03:00:16 +0000 Richard Bastian http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25270 London residents alone throw away 20 million tonnes of waste each year according to the London Community Resource Network, which estimates that recycling or reusing these resources could stop 150 million tonnes of annual carbon emissions.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/reduce-and-reuse-%e2%80%93-have-we-come-full-cycle/feed/ 4 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/the-green-movement-at-50-what-next/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/the-green-movement-at-50-what-next/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:00:39 +0000 Tony Juniper http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25184 The modern age of environmentalism is about half a century old. During that time awareness has grown, our knowledge of the challenges has increased while important practical progress has been made, for example in reducing some kinds of pollution and in the establishment of protected areas. We are, however, still very far from reconciling the demands of people with what our planet can sustainably provide.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/the-green-movement-at-50-what-next/feed/ 7 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/14/we-humans-dislike-facing-up-to-unpleasant-truths/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/14/we-humans-dislike-facing-up-to-unpleasant-truths/#comments Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:45:02 +0000 Caroline Lucas MP http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25245 Silent Spring remains a landmark for environmentalists. It is rooted in sound science but also has vital moral and emotional dimensions. It exposes the dangers of pesticides and sets out the consequences for nature and people in clear and persuasive terms. And though dangerous chemicals are still in use and still causing harm, its publication helped avert a worse catastrophe.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/14/we-humans-dislike-facing-up-to-unpleasant-truths/feed/ 6 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/14/like-thatcher-before-them-leaders-must-understand-their-moral-duty-towards-the-environment/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/14/like-thatcher-before-them-leaders-must-understand-their-moral-duty-towards-the-environment/#comments Thu, 14 Jun 2012 02:00:30 +0000 Trewin Restorick http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25240 The full horror of hitting 50 hit me personally this year as I ‘celebrated’ my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I realised that half my life has been spent in the Green Movement.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/14/like-thatcher-before-them-leaders-must-understand-their-moral-duty-towards-the-environment/feed/ 30 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/13/the-debate-should-we-be-doing-more-to-combat-climate-change-2/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/13/the-debate-should-we-be-doing-more-to-combat-climate-change-2/#comments Wed, 13 Jun 2012 09:44:19 +0000 Laura Davis http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25221 Fifty years ago, few people cared about pollution, deforestation, whaling or the Ozone later. But even with an increasing awareness of issues concerning the environment, there is still a long way to go. This week The Independent is looking at the successes and failures of the Green Movement at 50, with a series of blogs and features centred around the question: "Has the environment movement been a success?"]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/13/the-debate-should-we-be-doing-more-to-combat-climate-change-2/feed/ 202 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/13/the-earth%e2%80%99s-advocate-defending-our-environment/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/13/the-earth%e2%80%99s-advocate-defending-our-environment/#comments Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:00:40 +0000 Simon Day http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25172 In 1992 the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro designed international legal protocol for the protection of the environment. Twenty years later, British barrister Polly Higgins believes those laws have failed.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/13/the-earth%e2%80%99s-advocate-defending-our-environment/feed/ 3 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/12/50-years-on-our-attitude-to-environment-and-architecture-has-hardly-changed/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/12/50-years-on-our-attitude-to-environment-and-architecture-has-hardly-changed/#comments Tue, 12 Jun 2012 03:00:40 +0000 Lloyd Alter http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25136 Today we build taller towers with better floor to ceiling glass; instead of an insulating value of next to nothing, they have double that, almost nothing. We are still cooking limestone and crushing rock to make concrete, responsible for 5% of all CO2 emissions worldwide. Prince Charles is building faux Georgian tract houses. People are reinventing housing and tearing down Robin Hood Gardens. Cars are everywhere; they are cleaner but marginally more efficient as they got bigger, heavier and air conditioned.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/12/50-years-on-our-attitude-to-environment-and-architecture-has-hardly-changed/feed/ 17