All articles
-
Pesticides and our Health
Since 1950 the human population has doubled, yet the area of arable land used to feed these people has increased by only 10%. There are huge pressures to provide food, at low cost, on land that is becoming more and more degraded as nutrients are stripped from the soil. Reliance on external inputs – fertilisers…
-
Clicking Clean
While there may be significant energy efficiency gains from moving our lives online, the explosive growth of our digital lives is outstripping those gains. Publishing conglomerates now consume more energy from their data centers than their printing presses. Greenpeace has estimated that the aggregate electricity demand of our digital infrastructure back in 2011 would have…
-
When industrial food fails us, it’s time to change the food system
The current food system is broken. We all see how industrial and chemical intensive food production impacts on people and farmers, the planet and animals.
Alessandro Saccoccio • 2 min read -
Food movement on the march
I joined the march against agribusiness in Berlin on Saturday, 17 January. It is too easy to be blasé about yet another demonstration. However, the large turnout of tens of thousands of people of all ages during a winter day was good for me.
Eric Darier • 2 min read -
Lidl commits to Detox!
Lidl, the world’s second largest discount supermarket, made a commitment to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from its textile production by 1 January, 2020! To give you an idea of the scale of this news, Lidl alone sells over one billion euros worth of textiles every year and is now amongst the top ten biggest fashion retailers in Germany.
Manfred Santen • 2 min read -
Green Gadgets: Designing the Future
Today, more and more people around the world rely on laptops, phones and tablets as an essential part of their everyday lives. However, the rate at which they purchase and discard these devices is having a serious impact on our planet.
-
Plan Bee – Living Without Pesticides
The drastic decline of wild and managed bee populations recorded in recent years in Europe and North America is alarming given our reliance on these insect pollinators for biodiversity and global food security.
-
The Bees’ Burden
This study reports concentrations of pesticides found in pollen brought back to hives by foraging bees, and sampled using pollen traps or direct from the comb. This is one of the most extensive studies of pesticides in bee-collected pollen carried out to date.
-
Your Online World: #ClickClean or Dirty?
From social media to music, streaming video, email and commerce, we are increasingly moving much of our lives online. But which companies are storing all of that data, and how are they getting the energy?
-
Primark joins the 5 Step Detox Programme
Today, British retail giant Primark became the 20th global clothing company to commit to Detox. In doing so, they have taken up the challenge laid down to the fashion industry by people around the world to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from our clothes and our waterways once and for all.