August 8th, 2018 The Mendocino Complex Fire currently devastating an area almost the size of Los Angeles is the largest in California’s history. The surface area burned this year has doubled in comparison to the usual average in California, with 117,000 hectares (290,000 acres) destroyed in this fire alone. The Read more…
August 8th, 2018 The license for glyphosate was renewed for five years last November by the European Commission. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in over 750 products including Roundup and is often sprayed as a pre-harvest drying treatment on food crops. The EU risk assessment process of renewing the substance’s Read more…
August 8th, 2018 The European Commission looks set to make France the new lead evaluator in an overhaul of the safety assessment of the controversial weedkiller chemical, glyphosate. The license for glyphosate was renewed for five years last November, with a last-minute U-turn by Germany, the current safety evaluator, ensuring Read more…
August 7th, 2018 Scientists have warned that the planet is at risk of entering a Hothouse Earth scenario where large parts of the world become uninhabitable even if the Paris Agreement are met. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was signed to maintain global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial Read more…
August 3rd, 2018 Plastic Free July ended this week following a month of mobilization around the world to raise awareness about plastic waste. Members of the Sick of Plastic campaign in Ireland participated in the challenge and encouraged people to share their experience on social media. In a recent blog post, VOICE Ireland, one Read more…
August 1st, 2018 Earth Overshoot Day falls today to mark the fact that humanity consumed nature’s entire annual ecological budget in just seven months. Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that Read more…
July 26th, 2018 The recent heatwave has had a devastating impact across the globe. Abnormally high temperatures and a lack of rainfall have led to drought conditions and a spate of forest fires across Europe, even in the Arctic Circle. The Greek government declared a state of emergency last week Read more…
July 30th, 2018 Six people have been killed and over 650 homes destroyed in a wildfire three times the size of San Francisco that continues to rage in California. In its latest update sent out last night, the California Department of Fire Protection said that the fast-moving Carr Fire has Read more…
July 26th, 2018 Animal welfare organisations have called on the European Commission to start infringement procedures against Ireland over conditions for calves exported to mainland Europe. Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), together with other animal welfare associations, wrote to the EU Commission at the end of June to make a Read more…
July 25th, 2018 Europe’s highest court today ruled that safety checks and labelling are needed for a new generation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice confirmed that new techniques to modify the genetic material in plant or animal cells – so-called Read more…