Catch-22: technology can help solve fishing’s environmental issues – but risks swapping one problem for another

Jun 14, 2020 12:29 pm UTC| Nature Technology

Almost a decade ago, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls Fish Fight campaign galvanised public opinion against the senseless waste of discarding fish. At the time this was the common practice of returning unwanted catches to the...

Genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in Florida and Texas beginning this summer – silver bullet or jumping the gun?

Jun 04, 2020 11:30 am UTC| Nature Science

This summer, for the first time, genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the U.S. On May 1, 2020, the company Oxitec received an experimental use permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to...

How the man-made chemical, nonylphenol, hampers the growth of fresh produce

Jun 03, 2020 13:29 pm UTC| Nature

Nonylphenol is a man-made chemical used in a wide variety of agricultural, food, industry and household products. A detergent-like substance, its main purpose is to make plastics more pliable and liquids more spreadable,...

Billions of years ago, the rise of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere caused a worldwide deep freeze

Jun 03, 2020 13:27 pm UTC| Nature

Around two and a half billion years ago the Earth was an alien world that would have been hostile to most of the complex life that surrounds us today. This was a planet where bacteria reigned, and one kind of bacteria in...

If all cars were electric, UK carbon emissions would drop by 12%

May 29, 2020 13:33 pm UTC| Nature

The COVID-19 lockdown has led to reduced pollution and emissions in the UK and around the world, providing a clear indication of how cars affect air quality and carbon emissions. But such a change is only temporary ...

Wuhan's lockdown cut air pollution by up to 63% – new research

May 14, 2020 10:30 am UTC| Nature

The COVID-19 lockdown in Wuhan, China, resulted in a 63% reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations, according to our new research. We have calculated that this drop in air pollution may have prevented up to 496 deaths...

Future of Coal Series

Aren't we in a drought? The Australian black coal industry uses enough water for over 5 million people

May 05, 2020 08:33 am UTC| Nature

Water is a highly contested resource in this long, oppressive drought, and the coal industry is one of Australias biggest water users. Research released today, funded by the Australian Conservation Foundation, has...