UAE reportedly plots massive oil expansion despite hosting COP28
Despite its position as host of COP28 next November, the United Arab Emirates has the third-largest plans for expansion into gas and oil globally. Controversially, the CEO of its national fossil fuel company Adnoc has just been appointed as the UN summit’s president. Seven months before the talks even get...
Current in Change
Cyclone Freddy causes havoc in Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar
Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar experienced heavy rains from early February to mid-March caused by Cyclone Freddy killing close to 600 people, and leaving more than 500,000 displaced. According to UNICEF, more than half of the affected population are children. At the beginning of this year, Cyclone Lindiwe struck Malawi, Mozambique,...
Is free public transport a fundamental right?
In 2020, Luxembourg became the first country to scrap public transport fees. Its residents now believe that free public transport is a fundamental right. Could the scheme work in other countries? Free public transport is a rarity around the world. So rather than pay a daily fee to get from point...
How will climate change affect Earth’s tectonic plates?
Climate change has damaged our planet in many aspects. However, many overlook its effect on the Earth’s lithosphere which could potentially put many lives in danger. Climate change is steadily causing a rise in sea levels and extreme weather events. This shift is affecting our planet’s crust, which is...
Ugandan parliament to criminalise LGBTQ identification
Uganda has been known for its conservative views on LGBTQ rights, with the country's government and society being largely intolerant of homosexuality. With the new anti-homosexuality bill passed this week, parliament has imposed the death penalty for some offences. In a shocking move, Uganda has passed a bill criminalising homosexuality...
Unpacking the ongoing protests in France
After two months of peaceful demonstrations sparked by a proposed pension reform in France, the message is clear: President Macron remains unmoved by his citizens’ clear opposition to the policy. As frustration increases without any sign of a U-turn, the national mood has started to turn sour. Protests. They’re the...
This tree offers an eco-friendly alternative to palm oil and soy
Farmers in Hawaii are cultivating the pongamia, a tree that could prevent further clearing of natural rainforests for palm oil and soy plantations. Its resilient nature could offer a huge economic boost to farmers losing out due to land degradation. Palm oil is known as one of the most environmentally destructive, yet common and easy-to-miss ingredients in food products today. This elusive and pervasive ingredient has led to the deforestation of...
‘Liquid tree’ installation absorbs CO2 emissions in Belgrade
Serbia is among the nations with the very worst air quality on the planet. A novel solution to sequestering GHGs in Belgrade’s most concentrated urban area, is the ‘Liquid 3’. If humanity has any chance of remaining under a 1.5C temperature rise, atmospheric greenhouse gases must decline by 43% before 2030 and 60% by 2035 – reveals the latest IPCC report. As well as nationwide transitions away from fossil fuels,...
This volcanic microbe could be the next frontier in carbon capture tech
Scientists have recently discovered an organism in hot springs that eats CO2 ‘astonishingly quickly.’ They hope to utilise it as an efficient means of removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. When it comes to the most efficient ecosystems for carbon capture, mangroves, the Amazon rainforest, and peat swamps are what tends to spring to mind. Scientists, however, have recently discovered a volcanic microbe that could...
Headteacher’s suicide sparks debate about Ofsted inspections
Ruth Perry took her own life after a report downgraded her school from ‘Outstanding’ to ‘Inadequate’. Teachers and policy-makers are urging for a national boycott of Ofsted. Education unions have called for a boycott of Ofsted, and urged teachers to refuse inspectors access to their schools, after 53-year-old headteacher Ruth Perry took her own life. Perry was considered an educator ‘in her prime’, who worked at Caversham Primary School in Reading....
