Environment
A Peated Debate
A proposed ban on the sale of a key raw material used to make many of Scotland’s best whiskies raises an alarming question for the drink’s fans: Is their cherished Scotch destined, sooner or later, to lose its signature taste?
A Precedent for the World
The attack on the Kakhovka Dam by Russian occupying forces sent contaminated floodwaters measuring trillions of gallons into the Black Sea. It was the worst blow yet to the environment in a war that has ravaged Ukraine’s ecology and is considered one of the worst human-caused natural disasters of all time. Since October, a Ukrainian team of prosecutors, ecologists and scientists has been regularly testing the area as part of efforts to build a case against Russia and charge it with ecocide.
Fires Threaten Africa’s Rainforest. Elephants Might Help To Save It
After decades of poaching pushed the Central African Republic’s forest elephant populations to critically endangered status, scientists are starting to understand the crucial role they play in keeping the rainforest safe from fires. But can the species be brought back from the brink?
A Model for Land Management, Morocco’s Agdals Are at Risk of Disappearing
Each year, fewer families are making the seasonal migration to Morocco’s communal mountain pastures, breaking with an ancient and sustainable way of life that has characterized the High Atlas for centuries, if not millennia. The decline of transhumance is pushing pastoral agdals to the precipice at a time when scientists say sustainable land-use systems are needed more than ever.
To the ‘People of the Red Sea,’ a Warning and a Hope
Maoz Fine, who studies coral reefs, was especially agog about the prospects of peace and better ties between his country and states along the Red Sea shores. When the first fruits of peace arrived, however, Fine and an ad hoc coalition of sundry Israelis found it unpalatable. A deal to bring oil from the UAE to Israel and then to Asia and Europe left many up in arms.
The Life and Death of Landfills
Upon closer inspection, I realized that the sparkles were in fact castaway shiny things: Crushed wash basins and tiles, porcelain that had outlived its purpose and was thrown into a mounting heap of junk so that it may die and, hopefully, in its next incarnation, find a new purpose.
Greece’s Wildfires and the Future of Natural Disasters
Wildfires last month on Greece’s second-largest island have destroyed homes and livelihoods. For many parts of the country, climate change is not a problem of the future; it is here and now. Yet the response from those on the island has not been to seek help from the government, but to turn to the local community.