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The Argentinian river that appeared suddenly in 2015 – aerial video
The Río Nuevo, which now stretches across 16 miles of San Luis province, is believed to be the product of deforestation, changes in farming practices and climate change. Now as its changing course threatens farmland, roads and even a city, the government is struggling to contain it
Continue reading...RAF looks to space for the future
Warm data, innovative electric transport and “fossil free steel”
Taking control of what you own
Rhino census in India's Kaziranga park counts 12 more
Tesla in fatal California crash was on Autopilot
Madagascar's vanilla wars: prized spice drives death and deforestation
As the price of pods has soared so has violence – and forest defenders are increasingly risking their lives to protect precious wildlife habitat from being felled for profit
The vanilla thieves of Anjahana were so confident of their power to intimidate farmers they provided advance warning of raids. “We are coming tonight,” they would write in a note pushed under doors in this remote coastal village in Madagascar. “Prepare what we want.”
But they either undervalued their target commodity or overestimated the meekness of their victims. After one assault too many at the turn of the year, a crowd rounded up five alleged gangsters, dragged them into the village square and then set about the bloody task of mob justice.
Continue reading...Country diary: a long-abandoned slate quarry's enduring monuments
Cwmystradllyn, Gwynedd: By 1871 the village was deserted, its consumptive and dispirited inhabitants dispersed. But much architectural beauty remains
The wave-like wall at Gorseddau slate quarry was running through my mind. I needed to go back and see if it was as I remembered. On a bitter March afternoon I set off along the old tramway that curves in from Cwm Pennant to the north.
Continue reading...Blimp used to spot sharks
Vanishing lake
Shipping faces demands to cut CO2
Prof Stephen Hawking Cambridge funeral to take place
A Big Country 31 March 2018
Row erupts between Italy's Parma ham makers and activists over pig welfare
Parma ham industry accuses animal welfare groups of a smear campaign following the release of ‘grim’ images of pigs kept in filthy and barren conditions
Images of pigs in filthy pens and barren conditions have sparked a row between animal welfare activists and the makers of Italy’s Parma ham.
The campaigners have released footage that they claim exposes barren living conditions with no stimulation, and injured animals with abscesses and hernias being left without adequate treatment. Their expose of the farms that produce meat for Parma and a small proportion of other hams follows a series of investigations over the last few years that have repeatedly appeared to reveal concerning conditions, such as pigs being treated roughly, and sick pigs being left to die in the corridors between their pens.
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
A family of brown bears, a whale shark and a new species of frog are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Continue reading...‘We have to organize like the NRA’: outdoor industry takes on Trump
Brands including Patagonia and the North Face have presented a unified front in fighting for America’s public lands
Continue reading...Higgs factory a 'must for big physics'
Country diary: my crash course in fencing
Allendale, Northumberland: Our neighbouring farmer has a mixture of stock. What’s good for keeping cows away from our property, won’t deter the sheep
As the noise begins, a curlew flies off, calling in alarm. Deep thuds resonate through the earth and I can feel them through my feet as I stand on the gravel path. A fencing machine with a hydraulic hammer is ramming a heavy-duty post into the field just outside my garden. These “strainers” will have wire strung between them and need to be strong enough to carry its tension.
The old posts, being rotten, needed replacing to prevent the cows from pushing down the drystone walls. Curious youngsters, full of joie-de-vivre and energy, they like to rub and nudge the rough stones. Last year, two black bullocks enjoyed leaning over to tug at a climbing rose which I pruned back hard to take away the temptation.