US Senate passes the nation’s first ever climate legislation
Getting the Inflation Reduction Act passed is one of Joe Biden’s most impactful moves as President yet. It will seek to avert global climate catastrophe by drastically reducing US greenhouse emissions, but also lower prescription drug costs for citizens, and increase taxes paid by large corporations. Environmentalists, climate activists, and...
Current in News
Earth nearing multiple ‘irreversible’ climate tipping points
A major scientific reassessment has uncovered that five critical planetary systems are at risk of breaking beyond repair – even if nations restrain warming to 1.5°C, the lower threshold stipulated by the Paris Agreement. This time last year, a devastating report from the IPCC warned us that the world was...
Pope Francis apologises for Indigenous residential school system
This week, Pope Francis wore a traditional Indigenous headdress presented to him by Canadian residential school survivors. The statement marked an official apology by the Catholic Church for its involvement in the widespread abuse of Indigenous children. When Chief Wilton Littlechild handed Pope Francis a traditional Indigenous headdress on Monday,...
Haarlem has banned meat adverts from public spaces
In an effort to reduce consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, Haarlem in the Netherlands has made the bold decision to outlaw ads for intensively farmed meat on buses, shelters, and screens. Acknowledging the link between animal exploitation and the worsening climate crisis, a Dutch city will become the first...
Explaining the UK’s ‘Don’t Pay’ movement
Record energy bill price hikes are pushing more members of the public to refuse paying their bills. What does the UK’s ‘Don’t Pay’ energy movement do and how does it work? This winter, millions of British citizens won’t be able to afford food or bills. Households have been losing income...
Young volunteers are rebuilding Ukrainian towns with clean-up raves
The small Ukrainian town of Yahidne is being cleared of remnants of Russian invasion and rebuilt by young volunteers to the soundtrack of house and techno music. Since the last days of February, Eastern Ukraine has experienced unrelenting shelling and occupation by Russian soldiers. Even the country’s smallest and least...
Zimbabwe resorts to gold coins amid high inflation
In June, Zimbabwe's inflation rate increased to 192%, a 60% increase from May. In a move to curb the crisis, the central bank has launched gold coins. The country is currently experiencing high food prices, increased unemployment and an abandoning of the country’s dollar in favor of USD. Covid-19 – as well know - led to lockdowns and social distancing, negatively affecting Zimbabwe’s already struggling economy. Even now, food...
Australian senator Fatima Payman’s mission to normalise the hijab
Fatima Payman is the first hijab minister in Australia’s history. In cultivating a positive narrative around the headscarf, she’s determined she won’t be the last. The Australian Labour party announced Fatima Payman as their newest senator in June 2022, and this month she took her seat in the senate as the first woman to wear a hijab in Australia’s government. At just 27, Payman has described her journey as ‘completely...
Alena Wicker is the youngest student accepted to medical school
After completing two degrees – yes, two – 13-year-old Alena Wicker is off to medical school, making her the youngest person ever to do so. Most of us will remember being 13. For Gen-Z, it was a time filled with Tamagotchi and Justin Bieber. Our proudest accomplishments probably involved a particularly successful take on hair gems, or a well-crafted music video taken on our parents’ hand-held camcorder. In any case, these...
Modern pesticides are getting bees ‘drunk’
Scientists have warned that exposure to neonicotinoids – the worlds’ most commonly used insecticide – is damaging the vital pollinators’ brains, preventing them from walking in a straight line.
As we know, the world’s insects are hurtling towards extinction.
Among them – most alarming of all – are a species integral to our natural ecosystems and consequently, human life. I’m talking, of course, about bees, whose overall population has
