environment news
Butterfly wings captured in slow motion footage
Butterfly wings are a bit of a mystery and “conventionally considered aerodynamically inefficient”. Researchers have analysed air flow movements behind butterfly and mechanical wings, and found that their wings clap together during the upstroke thrusting the animal forwards. This is crucial for fast take-off and evasive manoeuvres and may help explain the evolution of wings. …
How South African police are tackling pangolin smugglers
Quiet, solitary and nocturnal, the pangolin has few natural enemies, but researchers believe it is the most trafficked mammal in the world. The tough scales covering its body are sought after for use in Chinese medicine, in the erroneous belief that they have healing properties. The animal has also been of interest to researchers during …
Covid vaccine: How does a vaccine get approved?
The NHS is carrying out the biggest mass vaccination campaign in its history with a jab that protects against Covid-19. Some people have been surprised to learn how a process which usually takes at least ten years could have been done in less than one. What safety checks have been made to get the Covid …
Nasa’s Curiosity rover: 3,000 days on Mars
The US space agency (Nasa) is about to put its latest rover, Perseverance, on Mars. But we shouldn’t forget that the existing robot, Curiosity, is still there and working well following its landing in equatorial Gale Crater back in 2012. Curiosity celebrates 3,000 Martian days, or Sols, on the surface of the Red Planet on …
Why 2021 could be turning point for tackling climate change
By Justin RowlattChief environment correspondent image copyrightGetty Images image captionThe world is not on track to meet its goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C Countries only have only a limited time in which to act if the world is to stave off the worst effects of climate change. Here are five reasons why …
Coronavirus: What has Covid done for climate crisis?
When Covid-19 sparked lockdowns around the world, emissions of one of the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, atmospheric carbon dioxide, plummeted. But is this record drop a short-term effect of the 2020 pandemic or a ‘new normal’? BBC Weather’s Ben Rich explores the impact of coronavirus on the global climate. Motion graphics by Jacqueline …
Extreme E: Lewis Hamilton helping make racing environmentally friendly
Lewis Hamilton isn’t just the world’s most successful Formula One driver ever, he’s also a key backer of a new off-road electric vehicle racing series called Extreme E. The plan is that super-powered electric cars will race in some of the most remote locations on earth in an effort to – the organisers say – …
Giant Antarctic iceberg A68a is not done yet
The iceberg came from a part of the Antarctic where it is still very cold – the Larsen C Ice Shelf. This is a mass of floating ice formed by glaciers that have flowed down off the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula into the ocean. On entering the water, the glaciers’ buoyant fronts lift …
Christmas star: Planets set to align in the night sky
Monday is going to be a wet and windy day for many but come evening, most of the cloud and rain will be clearing away. Therefore, there should be plenty of clear spells developing across most parts of the UK. The exception to this may be in the southwest of England, south and west Wales …
Stargazers watch the total eclipse in Argentina’s Neuquen province
Tourists and scientists gathered at an observation site in Argentina’s Neuquen province to watch a total solar eclipse. The spectacle was visible from a 90km corridor spanning Chile’s southern Pacific coast, across the Andean mountain range, and into Argentina. The eclipse is the second to be visible in South America in 18 months, though poor …
