“As I went walking that ribbon of highway/I saw above me the endless skyway/I saw below me that golden valley/This land was made for you and me.” These are the immortal words of Woody Guthrie, the grandfather of 20th century protest music. There’s no question that critical music contributes to periods of significant…
Read full post
I alight at Dent station, at 1,150ft the highest in England. Up here even the names are short, as if to save breath. It’s from a lonely stop like this that I imagine Mary Lennox being driven in a carriage up into the moors to remote, mysterious Misselthwaite Manor in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The…
Read full post
I’m strolling in deepest Britain, on a course originally set by a Victorian theodolite. Empty fields stretch silently away. A wren, an animated ball of feathers, tizzes urgently across my path to break the purest peace. Far in the distance a dot gradually grows. Once it might have been the Oxford to London express,…
Read full post
Over 90% of adults under 55 own a smartphone, with excessive use linked to anxiety, social and behavioural problems. Technological advances such as smartphones are also cited as causes of the growing human disconnection with nature. We surveyed people about their smartphone use, their relationship with nature and anxiety. The results showed that higher…
Read full postResearchers have found that green spaces with greater ecological diversity are particularly beneficial for our mental health. Professor Jorgensen who works at the University of Sheffield highlighted the importance of “experiences of nature – including diverse trees, plants and wildlife.” Across the world increasing numbers of people are moving to cities and 80% of…
Read full post
According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), Southern Africa’s temperatures are rising at twice the global average rate. While it is mainly industrial nations that are responsible for producing greenhouse gases, such as CO2, that contribute to climate change, the main victims of climate change are already suffering, in the countries of the…
Read full postI am a mother of three and a practising Muslim woman, originally from Yemen, a country torn by war. I’ve lived in Britain for 20 years. I have been environmentally aware for years. My first education on environmental issues came from the Quran when I came across verses that alerted me to environmental problems…
Read full post
Extinction Rebellion Rewilding (XRR) is a quickly growing group of like-minded souls eager to fight the economic and social system that in so many ways is responsible for the climate and ecological crisis we’re in. A few decades ago I was involved in eco-activism, trying, largely in vain, to raise awareness about climate change.
Read full post
A European Commission report has identified the UK as being the largest supporter of fossil fuels in the European Union, giving over £10bn annually between 2008-2016 while claiming that it has ‘no fossil fuel subsidies’. The lack of any universal agreement on what constitutes a ‘subsidy’ means the government is free to set the definition…
Read full postThe World Economic Forum (WEF) is a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) that was founded in 1971. The WEF’s mission is cited as ‘committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas’. It is a membership-based organization, and membership is made…
Read full post