increase font size
In response to a request from Hvar's registered charity Dignitea, the EC has sent a full explanation of the regulations which should be applied to the proposed oil and gas drilling in the Adriatic.
Donations can be made in euros, pounds sterling, US and Australian dollars and Swiss francs. All donations, however small, are very welcome. We acknowledge donations by email if we have the donor's address. Please let us know if you require a formal paper receipt.
Ice Memory Foundation’s specially dug ‘sanctuary’ offers storage for cores, which hold thousands of years of history
Last month the Ice Memory Foundation opened the first ever sanctuary for mountain ice cores in Antarctica, where samples will be stored for centuries to come.
The cores, typically 10cm in diameter and a metre or more long, are stored in a specially excavated ice cave. The first to be laid down came from two Alpine glaciers that are rapidly shrinking.
Continue reading...
The annual competition draws thousands of entries from across the world and brings together images from below the water’s surface that show the diversity and challenges of subaquatic life
All photographs courtesy of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026
Local river defenders force U-turn by occupying grain terminal operated by one of US powerhouses of world trade
“A victory for life.” That was the triumphal message from Indigenous campaigners in the Brazilian Amazon this week after they staved off a threat to the Tapajós River by occupying a grain terminal operated by Cargill, the biggest privately owned company in the United States.
“The river won, the forest won, the memory of our ancestors won,” said the campaigners in Santarém when it was clear their actions had forced the Brazilian government into a U-turn on plans to privatise one of the world’s most beautiful waterways and expand its role as a soy canal.
Continue reading...
Isley Marsh, Devon: The birdlife is mostly staying still in the downpour, not least these large, striking waders that we’re lucky to have here
Rain washes across the saltmarsh, numbing my lips and fingers. The deluge is unavoidable, as it has been all year. It’s been one of the wettest winters on record and harder to get around. Glimpsing a huddle of white feathers, I try to silence my squelching, not wanting to disturb the sheltering bird. Its wings flare, as though preparing for flight, but the little egret remains in place. It considers the pool at its feet, buffered from the rain by the reeds.
Behind it, the silver River Taw winds into the estuary. Standing on the track, I catch the shimmering white breasts of lapwings at the water’s edge, fluttering like the tail of a kite before takeoff. They ripple but do not fully rise. The only real movement is from the water. Rain sheets in from the side; the river surges with the tide while the rest of us stand, crouch or falter in the murk, unable to muster the same momentum.
Continue reading...
A new mini power station and lithium extraction facility near Redruth are set to bolster green energy and create jobs
Just outside the perimeter fence stand the hulking remains of grand stone engine houses, a testament to Cornwall’s proud tin and copper mining history.
But inside is a shiny new mini power station and lithium extraction plant that is once again accessing rich underground resources in the far south-west of Britain.
Continue reading...
As fish stocks dwindle, surf tourism may offer a lifeline to traditional caballitos de totora fishers, whose vessels are thought to be among the first ever used to ride waves
Just before dawn, in a scene that has repeated itself over thousands of years on the north coast of Peru, fishers drag boats made of bound reeds to the water’s edge and, kneeling on them, use paddles shaped from split bamboo to row out into the Pacific Ocean to catch their breakfast. A few hours later, these surfer fishers return with netfuls of their catch, riding waves on the final stretch back to the shore. From the main beach in Huanchaco – a seaside town near the city of Trujillo – the fish are taken to sell at the market or to beachfront restaurants preparing meals for tourists.
The four-metre-long reed vessels – known as caballitos detotorain Spanish, or “little reed horses” – are placed upright on their ends by the promenade on El Mogote beach so that the seawater drains away and they are ready to be used the next morning.
Continue reading...
Changes threaten ecosystems as flowering falls out of sync with fruit-eating, seed-dispersing animals and pollinators
Tropical flowers are blooming months earlier or later than they used to because of climate breakdown, with potentially “cascading impacts across ecosystems”, according to a study of 8,000 plants dating back 200 years.
Researchers looked at flowers from a range of countries, including Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana and Thailand, home to the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, but also the most understudied.
Continue reading...
With most Scots supportive of reintroducing the wild cat, charities are focusing on those whose jobs could be affected
Could lynx, the elusive wild cat driven to extinction in Britain more than 1,000 years ago, become the new Loch Ness monster? “Whether Nessie’s there or not, she draws tourists,” said Margaret Luckwell, a resident of Moray, Scotland. “It would be the same with lynx. I’d love to see a lynx in the wild.”
Luckwell’s view is a majority one among local people gathering at village halls across the Highlands, as a painstaking consultation slowly gathers momentum for the apex predator’s return to Scottish forests.
Continue reading...
In this week’s newsletter: The climate crisis is making insurance unaffordable for many – and it should worry all of us, even if we think we’re safe from floods, wildfires and hurricanes
• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here
I’m worried about insurance.
Some homes are becoming uninsurable due to the rapidly escalating impacts of the climate crisis. And that should worry you too, even if you think your home is safe enough.
Under water, in denial: is Europe drowning out the climate crisis?
The Great Olympic lie: untold story of Winter Games’ huge environmental impact
‘It’s more exciting than Tesco’: can traditional fishing lure Cornwall’s young people?
‘Homes may have to be abandoned’: how climate crisis has reshaped Britain’s flood risk
Continue reading...
Falling volcanic ash has for years been viewed as a nuisance. But a Sicilian project has discovered its agricultural potential and wants to spread the word
In the Sicilian town of Giarre overlooking Mount Etna, Andrea Passanisi, a tropical and citrus fruits producer, uses an unusual fertiliser on his 100-hectare (247-acre) stretch of land: volcano ash.
Like hundreds of farmers and citizens of rural towns perched on the slopes of Europe’s highest and most active volcano, the 41-year-old’s family has had to deal with the nuisance of falling volcanic ash for generations. But it is only in recent years that the quantity of ash has become so excessive that it required an alternative approach.
Continue reading...The new review brings together the strongest evidence to date on collagen supplementation, say experts.
Bills to let terminally ill people end their life are being considered at Westminster and in Scotland.
Birmingham Children's Trust refused respite help and suggested training grandparents to help.
The interim report has identified problems "at every stage" of the maternity journey in England.
There were 4,793 people sleeping on the streets on a single night last autumn.
Understanding the seasonal patterns of sperm could improve fertility treatments, by optimising the timing of treatment, the reasearchers say.
New contract will require patients in England to be given immediate appointment if needed.
Emma Dyer says she collapsed on her bathroom floor and began vomiting blood after buying jabs online.
Grace Bell, who was born without a viable womb, says her little boy is "simply a miracle".
Bid to improve access to Mounjaro in England, but experts warn eligibility still tightly restricted.
Deep in the mountains of Palawan, Conservation International scientists are capturing what few people ever see: the secret lives of the Philippines’ rarest species.
At Maido — the Lima restaurant recently crowned the best in the world — one of the star dishes is paiche, a giant prehistoric river fish.Its journey to the table begins on a small family farm deep in Peru’s Amazon.
“Jane Goodall forever changed how people think about, interact with and care for the natural world,” said Daniela Raik, interim CEO of Conservation International.
Conservation International’s Neil Vora was selected for TIME’s Next 100 list — alongside other rising leaders reshaping culture, science and society.
Climate change is happening. And it’s placing the world’s reefs in peril. What can be done?
After decades of negotiation, the high seas treaty is finally reality. The historic agreement will pave the way to protect international waters which face numerous threats.
The Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out — and deforestation is largely to blame.
The ocean is engine of all life on Earth, but human-driven climate change is pushing it past its limits. Here are five ways the ocean keeps our climate in check — and what can be done to help.
In a grueling and delicate dance, a team led by Conservation International removes a massive undersea killer.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures might be worth even more. An initiative featuring the work of some of the world’s best nature photographers raises money for environmental conservation.
