Oxford University ecologists have co-devised a new framework to classify how biodiversity credit operators define what a unit of nature is. The new analysis demonstrates the challenges involved with devising a biodiversity credit market to fund nature recovery, and the risks of relying too heavily on ‘offsetting.’ We can’t avoid all impacts of human activity…
While we must hope for global cooperation, we can no longer rely on it. Local communities have the power to lead the way in safeguarding elements of civilization and nature” — Garry Rogers HUMBOLDT, AZ, UNITED STATES, December 5, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — As Earth’s biosphere faces unparalleled pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource…
With house building a priority for the new UK Government, researchers at the University of Surrey are urging city planners not to forget to build “greening areas” such as parks in new communities. Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), working with 30 co-authors from seven countries, found that parks may be the most…
Around 90 % (4.5 trillion) of cigarettes consumed globally are improperly discarded, making cigarette butts one of the most common waste types. They contain harmful chemicals such as metals, nicotine, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which leach into water and threaten aquatic life. Nicotine dissolves readily in water, with approximately half leaching out from cigarette butts…
A new study suggests that a more complex understanding of how wealth and biodiversity are linked may help communities with little wealth achieve the levels of diversity typically associated with more affluent areas. Researchers have long understood that areas with more wealth tend to have higher biodiversity, a phenomenon known as the “luxury effect.” However,…
Alcohol isn’t solely a human construct. Ethanol, a type of alcohol, naturally occurs across ecosystems. From jungles to deserts, wherever sugary foods ferment, ethanol is found. So, behavioral ecologist Kimberley Hockings from the University of Exeter challenges the traditionally human-centered view of ethanol, suggesting it has a broader ecological role. “We’re moving away from this…
Fire behaviour in the Mediterranean region has been altered by climate change. In the last decade, not only has the occurrence of fires increased but also their virulence. This is primarily due to higher temperatures and the decrease in the rainfall, which have made forest ecosystems less able to withstand fires. It has also been…
Dozens of studies have demonstrated that nitrogen pollution, due mainly to the burning of fossil fuels and agricultural practices, is causing plant biodiversity losses worldwide. But whether rising levels of climate-warming carbon dioxide gas are amplifying those nitrogen-induced biodiversity losses or dampening them remains unclear and is an understudied topic. The newly published findings of…
Botanical discoveries may sound like relics of a bygone era, but researchers are still uncovering dozens of new plant species every year. From the palm in Borneo that flowers underground to the orchid thriving parasitically on other plants in Madagascar, the strangeness of these species illustrate how little we know about Earth’s natural secrets. The study,…
Cargo ships, tankers etc are usually loaded at land-based terminals but sometimes it is necessary for various reasons for cargo to be transferred from one ship to another while at sea. Many of these ship-to-ship transfer (STS) operations involve the transfer of liquid fuels. This can be a risky business with a danger of spillage…