News

There are many changes afoot in the environmental and sustainability world; it is important to stay informed and up to date!

We have pulled together topical news stories from some of the most trusted sources such as BBC, Guardian, UN News and Science Daily. The news stories regularly update and are not stored here so you might want to check back regularly to avoid missing interesting stories.

Keeping an eye on news stories may also help you:|

  • work out what interests you most
  • be inspired with the great progress that others are making
  • give you further ideas for actions.
  • maintain momentum on your Eco journey through a regular check-in, giving you time to reflect.

It is highly recommended that you develop a sceptical mindset when following the news and ideally look at multiple sources. News reports may be biased and influenced by vested interests, and they often reinforce the unsustainable practices that much of our society has been built around. A sceptical mindset will also help you to avoid being overly influenced by product adverts and marketing, which can encourage unsustainable buying habits.

The first step on the EcoTracker Framework is “Learn”. This will empower you to effectively reduce your environmental impact.

By sharing your “personal eco-progress-story” with others, you and others are much more likely to be inspired and motivated to complete further actions. Why not share interesting news stories with them too?!

  • Hundreds of previously overlooked seismic events have been detected beneath Antarctica, including 245 near the marine edge of the Thwaites Glacier. Many appear to be glacial earthquakes caused when huge icebergs break off, capsize, and collide with the glacier. The surge in activity coincided with a period when Thwaites was flowing faster toward the ocean, […]
  • Researchers have produced a form of Spirulina containing biologically active vitamin B12 at levels comparable to beef. By carefully controlling the light used to grow the algae, they overcame a major problem with conventional Spirulina, which mainly contains a form of B12 the human body cannot use. The carbon-neutral system could provide a more sustainable […]
  • Researchers have discovered a way to turn notoriously difficult-to-recycle PVC plastic into a key ingredient used in high-performance lubricants such as engine oil. The technique could give mountains of plastic waste a valuable second life while making lubricant production more sustainable.
  • More than 1,000 volunteers buried cotton underwear across Switzerland to help scientists measure how active different soils are. The faster the fabric disappeared, the more biological activity was taking place underground. Gardens showed the fastest decomposition, while lawns had the least, revealing how strongly land management can shape soil life.
  • Scientists may have solved the mystery of why Antarctica froze millions of years before the Arctic. Slow-moving waves deep inside Earth gradually lifted East Antarctica, building mountains and a high plateau where snow and ice could survive even in a much warmer world. Once glaciers took hold, their bright surfaces reflected sunlight and helped cool […]
  • Scientists have created a highly efficient catalyst that breaks down stubborn lignin from plant waste into useful chemicals under relatively mild conditions. By revealing exactly how the catalyst works at the atomic level, the discovery could help turn forestry and agricultural waste into renewable building blocks for fuels, plastics, and other materials.
  • Hundreds of previously overlooked seismic events have been detected beneath Antarctica, including 245 near the marine edge of the Thwaites Glacier. Many appear to be glacial earthquakes caused when huge icebergs break off, capsize, and collide with the glacier. The surge in activity coincided with a period when Thwaites was flowing faster toward the ocean, […]
  • Beneath the rocky slopes of Mount Timpanogos lies far more ice than anyone walking across the surface might suspect. Researchers used gravity measurements to map the buried glacier in 3D and found it is about 83% ice, with enough frozen water to fill 600 Olympic swimming pools. Their findings suggest rock glaciers form as falling […]
  • A Manhattan-sized ice island has broken away from Greenland’s Petermann Glacier after years of growing fractures weakened its floating ice tongue. Scientists expect two more huge sections could soon detach, potentially removing about 22 percent of the remaining ice tongue.
  • Scientists may have solved the mystery of why Antarctica froze millions of years before the Arctic. Slow-moving waves deep inside Earth gradually lifted East Antarctica, building mountains and a high plateau where snow and ice could survive even in a much warmer world. Once glaciers took hold, their bright surfaces reflected sunlight and helped cool […]
  • A huge section of Greenland’s Petermann Glacier has snapped off, forming an ice island about the size of Manhattan. Satellites watched cracks spread rapidly before the 76-square-kilometer slab finally broke free on August 4. It is the glacier’s biggest calving event since 2012, and scientists say two even larger pieces could eventually follow. The rare […]
  • A newly discovered Arctic process can dramatically boost the number of particles that help form clouds. Near melting sea ice, sunlight reacts with chemicals released by the ocean, algae, and ice, causing cloud-seeding particles to multiply by as much as 50 times in a day. Because the active ice-edge region is growing as sea ice […]

0Shares

Help the community by posting useful and constructive comments e.g. top tips or relevant references