Clean water projects, such as the Rajasthan drinking water project, significantly improve community health and wellbeing, but is this at the cost of gender equality development? Rajasthan is a large state in North India. Despite containing ten percent of India’s land area, Rajasthan only produces one percent of the country’s water resources. [2] Rajasthan is…
By Alisa Reid – Plastic pollution is a critical long-term problem with ~400Mt produced annually [1]. Microplastics are an important contributor; classified as <5mm in diameter. There are two classes; primary (manufactured at size) or secondary (eroded to classification size) [2]. This pollution is challenging to successfully mitigate as their size often enables them to…
By Guy Boonyarakyotin – Dreams of sustainable development are often accompanied by images of skyscraper greenhouses or groundbreaking technologies of renewables and electric vehicles. Our growing populations and demand for resources are also becoming a testament to our need for better ways to use our dwindling resources. This, however, makes it easy to forget our…
By Talia Treble – Mangrove Forests, as coastal ecosystems, store vast amounts of carbon whilst providing resources and protection for communities stricken by the impacts of climate change [1]. With the importance of storing ‘blue carbon’ [2] becoming increasingly recognised, the destruction of these environments is fast becoming a global environmental challenge. Blue Carbon Blue…
The Himalayas have been nicknamed the ‘third pole’ [1] as the region is home to the largest number of glaciers outside of the polar regions, but Himalayan glaciers are facing pressure from climate change. Himalayan climate is rising faster than the Northern Hemisphere average [1], causing the large volumes of ice found in the Himalayan…
By Ella Vincent – Environmental justice (EJ) is a concept in geography that hasn’t been around for long, because of this, it’s an increasingly popular theme that becomes more prevalent each day across the globe. EJ is based upon the ideals that everyone has the right to equal protection from environmental and public health laws…
By J. Critchley – Food production causes over a quarter of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions [1]. It’s estimated that by 2050 there will be another 2 billion people on earth which will require 70% more food [2], meaning greenhouse gas emissions are only going to increase [3]. So, it’s becoming ever more important to…
By Rose Huish-Neave – With more deaths than any human war, the meat industry kills 200 million animals per day and 18,000 humans per year [1]. More antibiotics are used on livestock than on our sick populations and are the primary cause of deforestation worldwide [2]. Humans could solve world hunger if crops grown for…
By Jess Griffiths – New research published in Ecosystems has found that areas of mangrove deforestation in Madagascar has lost 20% of carbon stored in the upper 1m of soil and 45% of total carbon accumulated in the past century [1], far more than previously thought. The CO2 emitted contributes to human-caused climate change, transforming…
By Eleanor Dann – A potential threat to the recovery of the ozone hole has been discovered[1]. There is evidence to suggest new emissions of the chemical CFC-11, which may be due to an unreported production[2] and has the potential to delay the recovery of the ozone hole. This article explores the potential impact of…