In the early 1990s diesel fuel was promoted as the environmentally-friendly choice for passenger cars as diesel engines use less fuel, and therefore in theory less toxic emissions, to get the same performance of a petrol engine. Diesel however contains more pollutants than petrol. At the time policymakers justified their acquiescence, and industry its actions, […]
David Marinelli
Indigenous people, our guides to the future
Indigenous people are communities that have lived in a region for many hundreds or thousands of years prior to colonisation. Typically they have strong links to the surrounding natural habitats, wildlife and ecosystems. They would also have distinct languages, cultures, beliefs and knowledge systems and be resolved to protect their identity and their social, economic […]
Smartphones Addiction and the EU Digital Delusion
Personal digital devices are likely to impact our mental and physical health. It is the ICT industry that is pushing digital technology. Digital is neither green nor nature friendly. It has a carbon footprint equivalent to that of the aviation industry. Smartphones have also made a huge waste management problem worse. It is extraordinary that […]
Poverty eradication and environmental degradation
The eradication of poverty has been on the international agenda for many decades and yet, although some progress has been made, the problem persists with the gap between the world’s rich and poor widening at an alarming rate. The UN Development and Environment Programmes jointly launched the Poverty-Environment Initiative in 2005 to help countries integrate […]
Mature Trees are much more than just wood
We have a deep bond with mature trees, as with the entirety of the natural world. We have been led to believe that we are separate and different in fundamental ways and that we are alone as we are so superior. What a relief it is to understand that such a view of humanity could […]
Restoring Nature Secures Humanity’s Future
It is vital that we transform humanity’s relationship with nature in order to secure a sustainable future for people and planet. Urgent action should be taken to protect and restore the natural world in a holistic way. Humanity has gone so far in the opposite direction that now the change must be transformative. Nothing short […]
Life not for Sale: Pricing Life for Economic Growth
Life is not a commodity. A number of reports by the UN, Greenpeace International and the WWF refer to humanity’s exploitation of the natural world as ‘ecosystem services’ and to the living elements that make up these ecosystems as ‘resources’. These reports still speak of sustainable economic growth which remains a contradiction in terms. Perpetual […]
Saving Nature, the Solution is to Stop the Ecocide
The way we should be going about saving nature is by putting a stop to the ecocide. In every ecosystem, living creatures, including humans, form communities, interacting with one another and with the air, water, and soil around them. Land and marine animals and plants, including trees, are also creatures forming communities and behaving according […]
Marine Life and Ecosystems in Critical Danger of Collapse
The seas, oceans, lakes, wetlands and rivers and the animals and plants they sustain are under severe stress from overfishing, atmospheric pollution, contaminants pollution, coastal development, invasive species and climate change. Many marine ecosystems are floundering. Others are collapsing. People are causing devastation to the marine life support systems vital for our survival. The WWF […]
Greenhouse gases and the dangers of invisibility
The fact that people do not sense greenhouse gases directly begins to explain why policymakers do not act on climate change. We would immediately react if we tasted cyanide, smelt smoke from a fire, saw a shark fin cutting through the waves, felt the ground move under our feet or heard a cry for help. […]