RHS predicts big shift in gardening habits as green-fingered Britons adapt to climate breakdown
Bouquets of cut flowers will be swapped for tabletop vegetable plants next year, the Royal Horticultural Society has said, as the UK charity announces its top plant trend predictions for 2026.
Mini-planters of aubergines, chillies, peppers and tomatoes will be displayed in homes instead of flowers, as breeders develop dwarf varieties that are decorative and capable of supplementing the weekly shop, the RHS says.
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I went from selling flats in Paris to being alone in a cabin in Guinea looking after primates. It changed my life, but one relationship marked me like no other
In 2022, I had a job at an estate agents in Paris selling ridiculously expensive flats, and decided I needed to do something more meaningful with my life. I resigned, and six months later arrived in Guinea.
In hindsight I was a young kid, full of anger, not happy with his life. That 26-year-old is definitely not me now – and it was living with primates that changed my life.
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Party would also abolish zero-emission vehicle mandate, cutting legal requirement on carmakers to sell EVs
The Conservatives have announced proposals to end the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars and cut the legal requirement on car manufacturers to sell electric vehicles.
A Conservative government would abolish the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, ending the legal requirement for manufacturers to sell a fixed rising percentage of zero-emission vehicles each year – 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035. It would also completely end the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
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Dartmoor, Devon: In these treacherous conditions for the moorland walker, one false move and a wary wader will burst into the air
Days of torrential rain have yet to drain from this broad ridge at the westernmost edge of Dartmoor. The wide path to the top of Gibbet Hill, with views of Wheal Betsy, the nearby abandoned mine, is glazed with puddles, and I am forced to hop between tussocks of sedge to avoid treading ankle-deep in the liquid earth.
This is my favourite season on Dartmoor – a time when it most feels like a moor: wet, muddy, bleak, empty. The wind-bent grass and dark scuffs of peat appear devoid of life. But winter walks promise fleeting encounters with a species that always takes you by surprise: snipe.
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The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable
Ten years on from the historic Paris climate summit, which ended with the world’s first and only global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions, it is easy to dwell on its failures. But the successes go less remarked.
Renewable energy smashed records last year, growing by 15% and accounting for more than 90% of all new power generation capacity. Investment in clean energy topped $2tn, outstripping that into fossil fuels by two to one.
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Extreme heat follows blazes in New South Wales, while winds plunge Brazil’s largest city into darkness
Extreme heat and bushfires have ravaged the parched landscape of Western Australia. With temperatures expected to continue soaring above 40C (104F) over the coming days, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe heatwave warning across much of the south-west.
The conditions follow bushfires in New South Wales this month, which resulted in the destruction of homes and loss of life. Severe heatwave warnings have also been issued for later this week in parts of South Australia and New South Wales, as a ridge of high pressure moves eastward, bringing blazing sunshine to much of the region.
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In sprawling landfills, thousands of Argentinian families scavenge for survival amid toxic waste and government neglect, dreaming of steady jobs and escape
The sun rises over the plateau of Neuquén’s open-air rubbish tip. Maia, nine, and her brothers, aged 11 and seven, huddle by a campfire. Their mother, Gisel, rummages through bags that smell of rotten fruit and meat.
Situated at the northern end of Argentinian Patagonia, 100km (60 miles) from Vaca Muerta – one of the world’s largest fossil gas reserves – children here roam amid twisted metal, glass and rubbish spread over five hectares (12 acres). The horizon is waste.
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Despite billions in investment and backing from the federal government, carbon capture and storage technology ‘should be in no way treated as a climate solution’, critics say
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The US energy company Chevron describes it as the world’s largest industrial carbon dioxide injection project of its kind. But it has a problem. It still isn’t working as promised and the results are getting worse.
The $3bn Gorgon carbon capture and storage (CCS) development, on Barrow Island off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast, was supposed to start operating in 2016, backed by $60m in federal government funding. Chevron and its partners in the project, including Shell and ExxonMobil, said it would capture up to 4m tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from an underwater gas field each year and inject it in a reservoir more than 2km beneath the island.
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Jessica O’Bryan puts the $60,000 Musso EV through its paces in suburban Sydney and finds some pluses, some minuses – but no charging points
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When I am handed the keys to Australia’s first affordable fully electric ute, to say I feel nervous is an understatement.
I’ve been driving a 2014 Volkswagen Polo for the past four years, and before that, a Holden Astra that was older than me.
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While it’s impossible to escape the emissions associated with flying, some travel methods are more carbon-intensive than others
Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint
Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com
As the Australian summer gets under way, many of us are planning holidays.
When it comes to limiting emissions associated with travel, a staycation or local holiday – by train, bus or car – remains the lowest-impact option. But overseas travel by Australians has been increasing in recent decades, with Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan, the United States and China among the top destinations, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
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Analiza 12 studija je pokazala da korisnici e-cigareta imaju 53% veću vjerojatnost od srčanog udara (infarkta miokarda) u usporedbi s onima koji ih ne koriste. Zanimljivo je da se među bivšim pušačima cigareta koji trenutno koriste e-cigarete, vjerojatnost srčanog udara više nego udvostručila. Ovi rezultati izazivaju zabrinutost zbog kardiovaskularne sigurnosti e-cigareta i ukazuju na to da se ne bi trebale smatrati sigurnim alternativama.
Snižavanje razine šećera u krvi prepolovljuje vjerojatnost ozbiljnih srčanih problema kod osoba s predijabetesom, tvrdi nova britanska studija. Naime, vraćanje glukoze u krvi na normalne razine – učinkovito preokretanje predijabetesa – smanjuje rizik od smrti od srčanih bolesti ili prijema u bolnicu zbog zatajenja srca za više od 50%.
Djeca s rijetkim oblikom raka zvanim neuroblastom koji nije reagirao na početno liječenje ili je došlo do recidiva mogu imati koristi od dodavanja terapije antitijelima uobičajenoj kemoterapiji, pokazuje nova studija.
Novo istraživanje je proučavalo kako se razvijaju simptomi ovisnosti o računalnim igrama i koliko su ti simptomi stabilni od djetinjstva do kasne adolescencije. Neke od brojki mogu biti zabrinjavajuće. Naime, pokazalo se, da dječaci imaju puno veću vjerojatnost da će biti ovisni o takvim igrama.
Biomarker u krvi koji se još nije koristio u skrbi za srčani zastoj može dati jasniju sliku o opsegu oštećenja mozga nakon srčanog zastoja, pokazala je velika multicentrična studija. Inače, diljem svijeta oko četiri milijuna ljudi svake godine doživi iznenadni srčani zastoj.
Znanstvenici s Cleveland klinike predstavili su konačne podatke 1. faze svoje nove studije o cjepivu usmjerenom na sprječavanje trostruko negativnog raka dojke, najagresivnijeg i najsmrtonosnijeg oblika bolesti. Pokazalo se, da je ispitivano cjepivo izazvalo imunološki odgovor kod većine (74%) svih sudionika te da je sigurno i dobro podnošljivo.
Tinejdžeri koji su nezadovoljni izgledom svojeg tijela imaju veću vjerojatnost da će razviti simptome poremećaja prehrane i depresije u ranoj odrasloj dobi, tvrde rezultati nove studije.
Poznato je da alkohol povećava rizik od nekoliko vrsta raka čak i u umjerenim količinama. Ipak, pijenje alkohola ostaje rašireno, a i dalje postoje važna pitanja o tome kako i učestalost i količina alkohola koje ljudi konzumiraju oblikuju njihov rizik od raka.
Austrijski znanstvenici otkrili su nepoznati molekularni mehanizam koji doprinosi razvoju psorijaze - i istovremeno predstavlja potencijalni biomarker za novi koncept liječenja psorijaze. Naime, u njihovom istraživanju se pokazalo da specifični protein koji veže masne kiseline (FABP5) potiče feroptozu, određeni oblik stanične smrti, i pojačava upalne procese u koži. Blokiranje ovog proteina značajno je poboljšalo promjene na koži koje su obično povezane s psorijazom.
Rutinske mamografije ključni su alat za probir raka dojke. Međutim, one također mogu sadržavati ključne, potencijalno neiskorištene informacije o riziku osobe od kardiovaskularnih bolesti, glavnog uzroka smrti među odraslima. Rendgenske slike mogu otkriti kalcij u arterijama dojke, znak da krvne žile postaju kruće.