The Skylark

22/08/2022

Sir Tim Smit, founder and CEO of the Eden Project...

https://theskylarkcom.wordpress.com/2020/08/10/middle-aged-men-are-the-most-dangerous-thing-on-this-planet/

22/08/2022

John Elkington, author and inventor of the Triple Bottom Line...

https://theskylarkcom.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/we-are-on-the-threshold-of-the-biggest-economic-disruption-in-our-history/

09/12/2020

A gallery article written by David George Haskell on how to really listen to trees. A mid week gift from an award winning and supremely talented writer. Enjoy!

https://theskylark.org/2020/12/09/how-to-listen-to-trees/

Award winning author and biologist David George Haskell shows us there are more ways to listen to trees than we previously imagined

03/12/2020

Shark whisperer Cristina Zenato explains that if we are to mend our broken relationship with the natural world then we have to fix our disconnect with the ocean.



https://theskylark.org/2020/12/03/what-we-can-learn-from-the-worlds-greatest-shark-whisperer/

Shark whisperer Cristina Zenato explains that if we are to mend our broken relationship with the natural world then we have to fix our disconnect with the ocean.

17/11/2020

The Skylark in a non-profit digital platform that provides accessible and original perspectives on the climate and biodiversity crisis for a global mainstream audience. We believe environmental content has been siloed for too long, speaking within an echo chamber full of an already informed and captured audience. Let’s be honest, environmental news doesn’t appeal to most people. Long articles on often intangible and unrelatable topics can be boring....

https://theskylark.org/2020/11/17/open-call-for-volunteer-writers/

If you believe that the media is missing something in its coverage of the climate and ecological emergency, we want to hear from you.

17/11/2020

We need to think of every pound we spend as a vote. We can either vote for the status quo or we can use it to vote for the change we all wish to see.

https://theskylark.org/2020/11/17/10-minutes-with-tessa-clarke/

CEO and co-founder of game changing food sharing app OLIO, Tessa Clarke discusses food waste, over-consumption and what to do about it.

11/11/2020

Once the domain of the Americas and Australia, farming with feedlots has been expanding across the globe as the demand and supply of the meat industry grows.

https://theskylark.org/2020/11/11/to-fully-understand-feedlots-you-have-to-go-into-space/

Once the domain of the Americas and Australia, farming with feedlots has been expanding across the globe as the demand and supply of the meat industry grows

04/11/2020

The Democrats can’t rest on their laurels; interest in an issue doesn’t always translate into votes. But many suggest they have just gained a significant number of people who are powerfully inclined toward them on the environment.

➡️ FOLLOW The Skylark for more news, storytelling and expert opinion on the climate and ecological emergency



https://bit.ly/31u2Vrc

Climate change is now the second biggest issue for Americans, after abortion.

03/11/2020

Food from the sea, produced from wild fisheries and farms (mariculture) currently accounts for 17% of edible meat production around the world. But if fisheries are sustainably managed, the researchers found that wild-caught seafood could increase by roughly 16% by 2050.



https://bit.ly/3jclXsd

But it must be done sustainably. If not, the opposite will happen and marine ecosystems will collapse.

03/11/2020

The single biggest problem in current coral reef restoration practices is scalability, making ecologically meaningful restoration impossible.

Could a robot assembly line, manufacturing over 1 million coral skeletons each year be the answer to destroyed or declining reefs?



https://bit.ly/37mqk1w

Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet but they are under serious threat.

03/11/2020

“You have to realise that Indigenous peoples can be drowned by dialogue. If every industry project invites us to endless meetings where we are supposed to be in dialogue with them, we could be in dialogue with them for years – and there are so many! And we are just one small people. They could talk us to death. So, without us having a possibility to give or withhold consent, attempts at dialogue are pointless.”

President of the Sami Parliament Aili Keskitalo on green colonialism, Indigenous rights and climate solutions that work for all.

https://bit.ly/34Zh8gX

Aili Keskitalo, President of the Norwegian Sámi Parliament

03/11/2020

A key part of the technology, say researchers, will be its potential to track pathogens in animals, which could even prevent a future pandemic. The researchers want to use ICARUS “to find out more about the life of fruit bats, for example, where the infection risk is particularly high."

➡️ FOLLOW The Skylark for more news, storytelling and expert opinion on the climate and ecological emergency

-19

https://bit.ly/35fA5Mn

Thousands of migratory animals will be tracked from space.

02/11/2020

Despite tens of thousands of chickens being rejected every week, no farm has raised issues surrounding loss of revenue. So, how cheap is this meat?

➡️ FOLLOW The Skylark for more news, storytelling and expert opinion on the climate and ecological emergency



https://bit.ly/2Hidvuo

"Very poor conditions" the norm in UK poultry sector.

02/11/2020

They are living myths that have fascinated humans since the dawn of time. But the tree of life is being pushed down a road to extinction.

https://theskylark.org/2020/11/02/saving-the-baobab-the-worlds-longest-living-flowering-tree/

Famous tree of life is facing extinction

02/11/2020

Birds of paradise are adored the world over for their colourful plumage and beautiful patterns. But as researchers increasingly study these rare birds, extraordinary discoveries are being made.

https://bit.ly/31mdixl

This is a 403 error, and it's not as ominous as it sounds. Bitly can only show this page to people who have permission to see it. Maybe what you are looking for can be found at Bitly.com.

02/11/2020

“This isn’t just because there are a couple of leaders that are climate deniers. This is a deeply entrenched, extraordinarily well financed effort to protect incumbency.”

Former World bank climate chief Rachel Kyte explains how to change systems while in the throes of deep political corruption.

The Fletcher School at Tufts University https://bit.ly/3lysGOS

Rachel Kyte, Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University

02/11/2020

In a test, the machine was able to lift a one kilogram ball 24 millimetres into the air, the same thrust proportionate to scale as a conventional jet engine.

https://bit.ly/37kjutq

01/11/2020

Using mostly offshore wind power, the giant infrastructure project will not only produce enough clean energy to power every single Danish household, but will create additional energy that can be exported.

https://bit.ly/3dEeu47

This article originally featured in The Skylark’s newsletter and was written as […]

31/10/2020

The announcement is significant as battery life has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks in further uptake of EV adoption. A longer battery lifespan also means that they have the potential to be reused in a second vehicle which would lower costs and make them more attractive to customers.

https://bit.ly/344cbUG

The average EV battery’s lifespan is around 200,000 miles.

30/10/2020

Probiotics have been widely and successfully used to improve both human and animal health, however their use in marine ecosystems has been largely unexplored until now. A solution to reef health is vital as they become increasingly stressed due to threats such as rising water temperatures, causing corals to become prone to infections and less likely to survive.

https://bit.ly/3k4qYEp

Just like us, the balance between good and bad bacteria is often disrupted in times of stress.

30/10/2020

In 2011, a report by UNEP on oil pollution in Ogoniland highlighted the devastating impact of the oil industry in the Niger Delta and made concrete recommendations for immediate action on drinking water and health protection.

However, nearly 10 years after a clean-up was demanded, most areas remain heavily contaminated and no site has been entirely cleaned up, according to an investigation by four NGOs. Furthermore, there are still communities without access to clean water supplies.

https://bit.ly/31cBP84

10 years after a clean-up was demanded, most areas remain heavily contaminated.

30/10/2020

“You can’t stay hopeful and cheerful by ignoring the science and it doesn’t serve any purpose if people just default to despair as if it’s too late to do anything about it.”

Sir Jonathon Porritt on why it’s down to you and me to compel politicians to act now on the climate and ecological emergency.

Simon & Schuster Books UK

https://bit.ly/33OcZgk

30/10/2020

Laboratory experiments have previously indicated that painting one of three rotor blades black minimises so-called motion smear, where birds don’t see the turbines moving. But the new study, conducted over a 10 year period, proved the concept in reality.
https://bit.ly/352LbUP

This is the first time the idea had been tested and proved in a real environment.

29/10/2020

Public campaign finance records for the current election cycle spanning 2019 and 2020 show Chevron has given at least $529,500 through its political action committee to US Congressmembers with failing civil rights grades, as scored by the NAACP. This compares to $124,000 given to politicians with passing grades.

https://bit.ly/2H75Df0

The oil giant has given over four times more campaign funding to US politicians upholding racial injustice.

29/10/2020

Wild tiger populations in five countries are rising thanks to a combination of initiatives that include focusing on protecting the landscapes where tigers thrive, restoring wildlife corridors and ensuring the communities that live among tigers are supported and included in the conservation process.

The increase has been recorded in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Russia, five of 13 countries that came together in 2010 – when the tiger population had dipped to 3,200. The aim is to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022, the next Chinese Year of the Tiger.

https://bit.ly/3j1RXzl

But the species is still on the brink of extinction in many countries.

29/10/2020

Climate change is here.

“In my country, Chad, from 1991 to now we have had a rise of 1.5°C already. For the next ten years, if nothing changes, it’s going to rise to over 3°C or even 4°C. Now, during the dry season, we have 50°C in the day. So, when we have a temperature rise of 3°C or 4°C, we simply won’t survive there.”

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim lays bare to The Skylark the fatal consequences of inaction on climate change.



https://bit.ly/3nxCnif

29/10/2020

Big agri, logging, oil, gas and mining industries murdered 212 environmental activists in 2019; the highest number to date that have been murdered in a single year.

https://bit.ly/2IoRD0K

This is the highest number to date that have been murdered in a single year.

28/10/2020

Evidence that microplastics can reach our organs is coming to light. Human bodies could contain as much as 52,000 microplastic particles.

https://bit.ly/3lDdKPw

Human bodies could contain as much as 52,000 microplastic particles.

28/10/2020

Developments in electric vehicles and battery storage are rapidly helping the transport and energy markets move away from climate damaging fossil fuels.

But these technologies currently rely, for the most part, on a rare and expensive metal called lithium. It is a key component in energy storage and in recent years, demand has skyrocketed.

However, a cheaper and resource-saving alternative to lithium-ion cells is needed and could be on the horizon.

https://bit.ly/3lLqrHW

Could sodium ever overtake lithium as the key component in batteries?

28/10/2020

“If there’s one thing my friends and family in the UK know about Australia, apart from Neighbours and the sporting rivalry, it’s the sunshine! We have all that sunshine, all that wind, all these resources, a highly-educated population. There’s nothing holding us back except, I hate to say it, the dead hand of the coal industry on our democracy.”

CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, David Ritter on how Australia can unleash itself as a clean energy superpower.

https://bit.ly/3dd5TVY

28/10/2020

Covid has shown that successfully tackling something this colossal depends on everybody, from individuals to governments, playing their part. And climate change, according to Dr Tara Shine, is no different.

https://theskylark.org/2020/10/28/dr-tara-shine-covid-proves-climate-change-is-a-battle-to-be-fought-by-all-sides/

Scientist, explorer, author and presenter Dr Tara Shine explains how Covid-19 has shown that action on climate change involves all of us.

28/10/2020

A group of US scientists may have made a major breakthrough which could pave the way for fossil-fuel free plastic production.

The researchers at Ohio State University stumbled across the discovery by mistake while they were growing and observing different types of bacteria in a lab to understand what would happen if they did not have access to sulphur, which they need to live.

https://bit.ly/34QfyxO

Could bacteria starved of sulphur help make a vital plastic building block?

27/10/2020

Printable solar cells so light that they can be rest on soap bubbles...



https://bit.ly/3lzkeyS

They’re so lightweight the team was able to rest them on the surface of soap bubbles.

27/10/2020

Over 4.2 million cigarette butts were recovered during the worldwide initiative, though the item was pushed to second place for the first time in 34 years as over 4.7 million food wrappers were collected.

Items collected included 1.8 million plastic bottles, 740,000 shopping bags and just shy of 1 million straws and stirrers. Other finds included 21 garden gnomes and 15 fire hydrants. More deadly was the finding of over 430,000 pieces of glass.

In an ironic twist, both Coca-Cola and Starbucks were supporting partners of the global event despite their continued reputation as being among the world’s worse ocean plastic polluters. Coca-Cola is currently being sued for knowingly polluting the oceans with waste plastic.

https://bit.ly/3lJcuum

Ci******es pushed to second place for the first time in 34 years

27/10/2020

“BAFTA did a survey last year that showed climate change is mentioned less than cats in TV dramas. Then you look at cartoons and programming for young people and there are very few educational or entertainment shows surrounding climate change and the environment.

News and culture is so important at influencing our ability to affect this issue. We as a society need to stand up and say it’s not OK that we don’t discuss these things. It’s not OK that our kids don’t learn about this enough, whether that’s through school or TV. And it’s not OK that actually we as adults don’t know that much either.”

Juliet Davenport, CEO and founder of the UK’s first 100% renewable energy provider, Good Energy, in conversation with The Skylark.

https://bit.ly/3d3HqSS

Juliet Davenport OBE, CEO of Good Energy

27/10/2020

Trade loopholes are allowing the UK and other EU countries to export banned toxic pesticides to countries with less stringent regulations.

By far the biggest exporter by volume was the UK, responsible for shipments of 32,188 tonnes of hazardous chemicals. But the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and Belgium were all found to be major exporters.

Among the other significant exports by weight were the soil fumigant and suspected carcinogen 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D), and the banned weedkillers atrazine and acetochlor.

Acetochlor was banned from EU use in 2011 because of concerns about “potential human exposure above the acceptable daily intake”, “high risk of groundwater contamination”, a “high risk for aquatic organisms” and a “high long term risk for herbivorous birds”. The chemical is suspected by EU authorities of causing cancer and damaging fertility.

https://bit.ly/2FrFc3i

The UK is the largest exporter of chemicals destined for countries with lax regulation

26/10/2020

Wangan and Jagalingou people serve an eviction notice in fight to protect their sacred lands from Adani coal mine

https://bit.ly/34JN9cI

Wangan and Jagalingou people serve an eviction notice in fight to protect their sacred lands from Adani coal mine

26/10/2020

Soil erosion across the world is putting us on a course to global starvation. We have between 30 and 50 harvests left to fix it. Here, ongoing regenerative work Haiti has lessons for the rest of the planet.

Our guest writer, Brendon Anthony explains more.

https://bit.ly/3nK4Ktw

The loss of soil is not just an environmental issue, but a social one. How do we protect the most vulnerable societies?