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Africa agriculture pioneer wins 2017 World Food Prize
Why do carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere soar despite stable emissions?
Ocean plastic pollution in Scotland – in pictures
A Greenpeace expedition around Scottish coastlines has found plastic in the feeding grounds of basking sharks, in the habitats of puffins, seals and whales, and in the nests and beaks of seabirds
Continue reading...Plastic debris inundates remote UK coasts endangering wildlife
A Greenpeace research expedition into plastic waste finds devastating pollution on Scottish beaches and seabird colonies
Plastic bottles and packaging are overrunning some of the UK’s most beautiful beaches and remote coastline, endangering wildlife from basking sharks to puffins.
A Greenpeace research ship has spent the past two months touring the Scottish coast and islands assessing the impact of plastic waste.
Continue reading...Vulnerable ‘chokepoints’ threaten global food supply, warns report
Fourteen critical bottlenecks, from roads to ports to shipping lanes, are increasingly at risk from climate change, say analysts
Increasingly vulnerable “chokepoints” are threatening the security of the global food supply, according to a new report. It identifies 14 critical locations, including the Suez canal, Black Sea ports and Brazil’s road network, almost all of which are already hit by frequent disruptions.
With climate change bringing more incidents of extreme weather, analysts at the Chatham House thinktank warn that the risk of a major disruption is growing but that little is being done to tackle the problem. Food supply interruptions in the past have caused huge spikes in prices which can spark major conflicts.
Continue reading...My owl nest box has finally attracted a tenant
Allendale, Northumberland Every now and then I hear the peep of what sounds like a single owlet, but I can’t be sure
It can take a while for owls to accept a nest box. My homemade wooden one was built to a chimney design from the RSPB website and set on a sycamore branch at the recommended 45-degree angle. My garden has a plentiful supply of voles, which are owls’ main prey. I have waited five years for one to move in.
For the past couple of weeks, the signs had been there: hysterical blackbird calls and a fluster of blackcaps and dunnocks signalling the daytime presence of a tawny owl in my garden. I have watched her edging closer to the box as the days have passed, first on a level spur of the ash tree, next on the side branch of a sycamore, and then so near the house that I could study her as I ate my breakfast.
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