THE SECRET LIFE OF TREES by Colin Tudge

pub. Penguin 2005 

Subtitled 'How they live and why they matter', this book is a veritable treasure-trove of information. Written in very readable style, it highlights the amazing diversity of our planet's trees, woodlands and forests, and gives warning of the dangers of their wanton destruction. A must-read. VG

ANCIENT TREES by Anne Lewington and Edward Parker

Originally published in 1999 by Collins & Brown, London, with a later edition published in 2012 by Batsford Ltd, London.

Subtitled 'Trees that live for a thousand years' this book is informative and beautiful, and very readable. An ancient tree is truly a magnificent sight. To many, trees have magical properties. Throughout history, trees have provided safety for those in need, offering shelter for a wide variety of creatures, including humans. Trees are a source of materials for boats and houses, they provide food for us and / or a multitude of insects, birds andother wildlife. And they are essential for the oxygen on which our life depends. Wanton destruction of trees, especially ancient forests, is perilous. This book is a perfect reminder of why trees are important to humanity, and why preserving them is not only a duty but a joy. VG

THE OIL ROAD by James Marriott and Mika Minio Paluello

pub. Verso, London, New York, 2012

Subtitled Journeys from the Caspian Sea to the City of London, this is a very brave book, written by courageous and perceptive authors. It is written using historical and actual perspectives in compelling style, following the best traditions of travel writing, and describes the inexorable effects of the oil trade on the world's villages, landscapes and cities. VG

THE END OF NATURE by Bill McKibben

pub. Random House, 2006

First published in 1989 by Random House in the United States and then in the UK in 1990 by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books, this is a disturbing and essential book. How much damage do we have to do to our environment before we realize the world can't take it? In the first edition of the book, the author set out the facts of the damage being done, and predicted what would happen if we continued the practices creating the problems, or if those practices spread to previously 'undeveloped' parts of the world. In the introduction to the new edition, Bill McKibben says he spent the intervening 17 years praying that his book would be proved wrong. Sadly, he states, those prayers have not been answered. This is a book urging change in our attitudes and lifestyle habits. Anyone who cares about the future of the world should read it. VG.

You are here: Home Books Books on the Environment

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Species that is critically endangered in Britain is spotted in Mersey, Bollin and Goyt rivers in north-west

    Young Atlantic salmon have been seen in three rivers in north-west England for the first time since 2015, marking a “significant environmental turnaround”.

    The salmon species was declared critically endangered in Britain in 2023 but fish have been spotted in the Mersey, Bollin and Goyt rivers, meaning they have successfully travelled from the Arctic Circle to spawn.

    Continue reading...

  • Dry and warm 2025 spring gave glimmer of hope for threatened wild birds but many remain in long-term decline

    The warmest and sunniest spring on record this year led to an increase in the breeding of some of Britain’s best-loved songbirds, data has shown.

    Scientists said the dry and warm spring had provided a glimmer of hope for threatened wild birds. In the 2025 breeding season, from May to August, there were higher than average breeding successes for 14 species including the chiffchaff, garden warbler, whitethroat, coal tit, blue tit, great tit and robin.

    Continue reading...

  • Trump ratcheted up his questionable claims about the environment and how to deal, if at all, with the threats to it

    In the past decade at the forefront of US politics, Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of unusual, misleading or dubious assertions about the climate crisis, which he most famously called a “hoax”.

    This year has seen Trump ratchet up his often questionable claims about the environment and how to deal, if at all, with the threats to it. In a year littered with lies and wild declarations, these are the five that stood out as the most startling.

    Continue reading...

  • National Trust says these are ‘alarm signals we cannot ignore’ as climate breakdown puts pressure on wildlife

    Extremes of weather have pushed nature to its limits in 2025, putting wildlife, plants and landscapes under severe pressure, an annual audit of flora and fauna has concluded.

    Bookended by storms Éowyn and Bram, the UK experienced a sun-soaked spring and summer, resulting in fierce heath and moorland fires, followed by autumn floods.

    Continue reading...

  • Hove, East Sussex: I’ve had to create a halfway house for him, between the rescue centre and the wild. Only, he’s named after an escapologist for a reason

    In the dark, a three-legged hedgehog trundles clumsily by, gathering leaves to make his bed more comfortable, although apparently not comfortable enough to hibernate. This may be his eighth winter; hedgehogs lose pigment with age and his bright pink nose suggests he’s well over five – the average age of a wild hog. Except he’s not wild, or not for now. I’ve had to lock him in the garden.

    His name is Houdini. He came into my life three years ago, captured on my trail camera with bone exposed from a partially missing leg. I caught him to take to the rescue centre, but he escaped before I got a chance – twice. I finally nabbed him and named him after the great escapologist. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a journey together.

    Continue reading...

  • Planet’s oldest bee species and primary pollinators were under threat from deforestation and competition from ‘killer bees’

    Stingless bees from the Amazon have become the first insects to be granted legal rights anywhere in the world, in a breakthrough supporters hope will be a catalyst for similar moves to protect bees elsewhere.

    It means that across a broad swathe of the Peruvian Amazon, the rainforest’s long-overlooked native bees – which, unlike their cousins the European honeybees, have no sting – now have the right to exist and to flourish.

    Continue reading...

  • Attenborough, 99, enthuses about tube-riding pigeons, foxes, parakeets and others in Wild London for the BBC

    Filming the wildlife of London requires an intrepid, agile presenter, willing to lie on damp grass after dark to encounter hedgehogs, scale heights to hold a peregrine falcon chick, and stake out a Tottenham allotment to get within touching distance of wary wild foxes.

    Step forward Sir David Attenborough, who spent his 100th summer seeking out the hidden nature of his home city for an unusually personal and intimate BBC documentary.

    Continue reading...

  • Since Zack Polanski took over as leader, the party has doubled its membership and its four MPs want to take on Reform’s anger and build community spirit

    “Someone has to be out there making the narrative for social security. Someone has to fight the corrosive attitudes to people on benefits,” says Siân Berry, who has just finished her first year as a Green MP in the House of Commons.

    She is speaking to the Guardian in her Brighton constituency office, formerly occupied by the legendary Caroline Lucas who flew a lone flag as the only member of parliament for the Green party for 14 years.

    Continue reading...

  • When the hot winds hit Roebourne, as many as 16 people pile into Yindjibarndi elder Lyn Cheedy’s home – one of the few with air conditioning

    Few places are more exposed to extreme weather than Roebourne, a tiny cyclone-prone town on the Western Australian coast, where public housing residents endure 50C heat without air conditioning.

    Lyn Cheedy, a Yindjibarndi elder, takes her grandson to the pool most afternoons.

    Continue reading...

  • Action began in January, before an all-out strike in March. For locals, the flytipping, vermin, maggots and mess are taking a huge environmental and emotional toll

    It’s an icy cold winter morning, and 80-year-old Mohammed Bashir is armed with a broom, tackling the large pile of rubbish that has accumulated outside his terraced house in Small Heath, Birmingham.

    This has become an almost daily activity for Bashir since the city’s bin strike started 50 weeks ago and, like many in the city, he is starting to lose patience.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds