Month: March 2026

    Grasslands and wetlands are being converted into agricultural land at an alarming pace nearly four times faster than forests according to a new international study that highlights a major blind spot in global conservation efforts. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to comprehensively map where, why and how quickly natural non-forest ecosystems have been transformed into cropland and pasture worldwide. Conducted by an international team that includes Professor Martin Persson of Chalmers University of Technology, the study reveals that these ecologically vital landscapes are vanishing at a far greater rate than previously understood. While deforestation has long dominated environmental debates, the researcher...

    As climate change drives more frequent heatwaves and cold snaps, scientists and architects are warning that the buildings people rely on for safety are no longer fit for purpose. A new book argues that surviving the extreme temperatures of the climate crisis will require nothing short of a revolution in how homes and workplaces are designed. In Adaptive Thermal Comfort: At the Extremes published by Taylor & Francis, authors Susan Roaf, Fergus Nicol and Michael Humphreys contend that modern building design particularly in Western countries has created thermally fragile spaces that depend excessively on energy-intensive mechanical systems. As global temperatures rise and weather becomes more volatile, they say, this model is increasingly unsustainable and socially ...

    When the ground shakes, political fault lines can momentarily fade. That is the premise behind “earthquake diplomacy” a concept gaining renewed attention as experts argue that seismic crises can open rare windows for cross-border cooperation, humanitarian solidarity and long-term scientific collaboration. In a recent initiative led by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, specialists from Greece, Italy and Türkiye gathered in Italy’s Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region to examine how disaster response can evolve into sustained regional partnership. The visit was part of UNESCO’s recovery response project following the devastating February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye. The idea is simple but powerful: shared vulnerability can foster shared s...