Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is used by trees for photosynthesis, a chemical reaction that produces food for the trees to live. So the more trees we plant, the more CO2 will be locked away. Most of us don’t have acres of land where we can plant with trees, but there is something we can all…
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Perhaps the climate change metaphor which has stayed in my mind most strongly is that of a group striding out into a minefield without a map or guide. In the analogy the mines represent tipping points in the climate system, primed to go off, but we don’t know where they are, only that the further…
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Venice has experienced its second-highest levels of flooding since records began. Two people have died, with an elderly man struck by lightning as he operated an electric water pump. Bolivia’s new interim president has pledged to hold fresh elections after taking the place of socialist Eco Morales, who resigned his post after…
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A team of scientists led by Professor William Ripple of Oregon State University have authored a letter relaying the moral obligation of scientists to ‘warn humanity of any catastrophic threat’. The letter has been signed by 11,258 scientists from 153 countries. It declares ‘clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency’.
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This October I graduated from Anglia Ruskin University with an MSc in Sustainability, achieving Distinction; but instead of feeling overjoyed, I felt numb. I had hoped that 18 months of study would guide me toward climate solutions and a lucrative career, but instead it left me grieving in a world that no longer makes…
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Humans are communal creatures, and our ability to thrive depends on the community that holds us. Good mental health is founded in appreciating that we’re part of a larger whole that we can take pride in. A strong community nurtures us though the good times and the bad, creating spaces where we can share positive…
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Children in Italian schools are set to take compulsory lessons on climate change. Education minister Lorenzo Fioramonti announced on 11 November that children at all state schools in Italy will take part in 33 hours of lessons dedicated to climate change-related issues, equating to almost one hour per week, from the start of the…
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Cullan Joyce, lecturer at the Catholic Theological College in Melbourne Australia, one day realised that all his years of ‘trying to live like Christ through connection to God, would become irrelevant if future generations were so threatened that pursuing a spiritual life would be impossible for them’. Joyce disagrees adamantly with those Christians who…
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Dear Readers, Here at The Hourglass we are feeling reflective, as this will be the final issue of the newspaper for 2019. It’s been a spectacular year in many ways; although there has been a lot of bad news, there have also been real shifts of positive change. Environment has become a top issue…
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‘Forest bathing’, or shinrin- yoku, is the ancient Japanese art of walking in the woods. I’ve struggled with anxiety for most of my life at varying degrees of strength. According to the NHS it affects 5% of the population, especially those between 35 to 59. On my journey towards mental resilience, I have been…
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