Olayinka Ajala, Leeds Beckett University This year’s summit of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) takes place against a challenging environment for the regional bloc. Recent developments in the region have included coups, insecurity and economic instability. Climate change also poses challenges. Six successful and two attempted coups in the region
ph. Olga Rudchenko/Shutterstock Jack Marley, The Conversation The world’s oldest animal welfare charity, Britain’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), is under fire from non-human rights activists Animal Rising. A food-labelling scheme, RSPCA Assured, marks meat and dairy from farms subject to annual inspections by trained officials. On more
ph. The Conservatives want to keep drilling for new oil and gas in the North Sea. Cal F / shutterstock Anupama Sen, University of Oxford and Sam Fankhauser, University of Oxford The Conservative Party manifesto proposes a “pragmatic and proportionate approach to net zero” with Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, promising to put
In the modern landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the most potent and revolutionary tools, with applications spanning medicine, economics, security, and natural resource management. One of the most promising and critical areas is environmental conservation. The growing threat of climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation demands innovative solutions,
As the global community faces the dual challenges of climate change and resource depletion, the quest for sustainable solutions has led to an innovative intertwining of renewable resources and green engineering, a synergistic approach that promises not only to mitigate environmental impacts but also to revolutionise the very paradigms of industrial design and
In an era defined by climatic vicissitudes and the consequential societal demands for sustainability, the onus has decidedly shifted towards engineering solutions that promise not merely amelioration but transformation. Amidst rising global temperatures and increasingly erratic weather patterns, engineers worldwide are pivoting towards strategies that integrate sustainability with technological innovation, thus redefining the
Trevelyan Wing, University of Cambridge One year ago, Germany took its last three nuclear power stations offline. When it comes to energy, few events have baffled outsiders more. In the face of climate change, calls to expedite the transition away from fossil fuels, and an energy crisis precipitated by Russia’s 2022 invasion of
ph. Cicadas climb up a tree at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., during the Brood X emergence in 2021. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images John Cooley, University of Connecticut and Chris Simon, University of Connecticut In the wake of North America’s recent solar eclipse, another historic natural event is on
No roads lead to Iquitos, a Peruvian port city surrounded by the Amazon rainforest and reachable only by river. The city’s diverse communities and ways of living – including fishing and farming – were what drew Heidi Mendoza. She’s a researcher who leads field work there on the human toll of climate change.
ph. Climate change complicates plant choices and care. Early flowering and late freezes can kill flowers like these magnolia blossoms. Matt Kasson, CC BY-ND Matt Kasson, West Virginia University With the arrival of spring in North America, many people are gravitating to the gardening and landscaping section of home improvement stores, where displays