Author: Grace Johnson

In Scotland, where deer populations are culled, eating wild venison can reduce carbon emissions. My last full meat meal happened seven years ago. My parents visited from Costa Rica, and we spent an evening exploring the menu of a small steak restaurant in London. For them, it was the final meal before flying home; for me, it marked a farewell to my most carnivorous days. Since then, I have mostly eaten vegetarian dishes, some seafood, and rare exceptions. My diet evolved alongside my work covering climate change. I choose animal products carefully: low-carbon options like mussels appear on my plate…

Days after India’s top court issued a new order, tensions over stray dogs have risen across Delhi. Animal lovers face hostility, and some even report violence, while others warn that stray dogs pose real dangers to the public. Residents confront dog feeders Megha Malhotra has fed stray dogs in her residential complex for nearly two years. Every evening, she places food at a temporary spot near her building’s exit gate. “I enjoy taking care of them,” she says. In recent weeks, she noticed growing unease among neighbours. Some have confronted her, insisting she stop feeding the dogs. Malhotra usually stays…

The Northern Lights lit up the UK sky for the first time this autumn on Monday night and may return Tuesday. From northern Scotland to north Wales, Norfolk, and Kent, people saw the vivid purples, greens, and reds of the aurora after a strong solar storm. Solar Storm Sparks Aurora Across the UK Space weather forecasters warned of possible aurora on Monday afternoon after satellites detected a coronal mass ejection on the Sun’s surface. This surge of solar energy entered Earth’s atmosphere, colliding with oxygen and nitrogen and creating the aurora’s bright colours. The Met Office Space Weather Centre predicted…

Foraging offers access to unusual foods and the experience of harvesting them directly from nature. But could it also cause harm? A Beachside Lesson in Seaweed On an unseasonably warm April evening, I lift a soggy lump of seaweed on a southern England beach. It smells sharp and tangy. The hard, flat fronds carry tufts of green vegetation, seawater, and sand. Our guide recommends frying this type of seaweed. I join a seaweed foraging course along the Jurassic Coast, and as we climb along the shoreline, the sun turns golden and mist rises above the sand dunes. Dan Scott gives…

In Brazil’s crowded favelas, green space is a rare luxury, but Vila Nova Esperança in São Paulo proves that sustainable initiatives can enrich residents’ lives. “You have to remove the seeds before they flower,” says Maria de Lourdes Andrade Silva, carefully pinching buds off a basil plant. She tends a vibrant community garden at the edge of the favela, a labour of love spanning over a decade. “If you leave it to flower, it will use all its energy and die,” she adds. When I visited this half-hectare garden in 2022, it was full of herbs, vegetables, and vibrant life.…

Live-fire military exercises have triggered hundreds of wildfires across the UK countryside since 2023. Exploding shells often make these fires too dangerous for firefighters to tackle. Fire crews fighting a vast moorland blaze in North Yorkshire this month faced threats from bombs and tank shells dating back to Second World War training. The remnants of past conflicts continue to complicate fire control efforts. Figures reveal that of 439 wildfires on Ministry of Defence (MoD) land between January 2023 and last month, 385 were caused directly by current army exercises. The MoD stated it has a comprehensive wildfire policy that monitors…

Located in the heart of Mexico, Querétaro enchants visitors with its colonial charm and famous stone aqueduct. But today the city and state carry another title: the capital of Mexico’s data centres. Global companies like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and ODATA have chosen Querétaro for their vast, warehouse-like buildings filled with servers. Nobody knows the exact number of centres, but dozens already exist and new projects keep rising. Ascenty, the biggest data centre company in Latin America, operates two sites of about 20,000 square feet each. A third one is under construction. Analysts forecast over $10bn in investment linked to…

Investigators in India will examine a massive private zoo owned by the Ambani family after the Supreme Court ordered a probe into claims of illegal animal acquisition and mistreatment. Judges also directed scrutiny of possible breaches of wildlife laws at Vantara and allegations of financial irregularities and money laundering. The Supreme Court stated that no evidence currently proves the accusations. However, it ordered an inquiry because authorities faced claims of failing in their duties. Vantara under spotlight Vantara, managed by Anant Ambani, son of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, houses hundreds of elephants, tigers and other animals. The zoo promised…

A species close to extinction Until the 1980s hunters roamed the Shennongjia mountains in central China searching for monkey meat and fur. Poor farmers cleared huge areas of forest, and as the trees vanished, the golden snub-nosed monkey population collapsed. Fewer than 500 remained in the wild. This was the reality when young graduate Yang Jingyuan arrived in 1991. He was just in his early twenties. “The monkeys’ home was being destroyed by logging, so their numbers were falling fast,” he recalled. “Now the forest is protected, and the population is growing again.” Today Professor Yang directs the Shennongjia National…

Sweltering summers turn air conditioning into a lifesaving device. Yet millions of Americans cannot afford it. The heat in swampy New Orleans, Louisiana, is so intense that locals describe the weather as mostly summer with other seasons scattered in. Jeffrey Elder, medical director for emergency management at University Medical Center New Orleans, treats many patients with heatstroke. “We see it every summer in a few ways,” he says. “It could be an elderly person who cannot use air conditioning, has a broken unit, or lives alone. They are later found in a heat-altered state.” Children and the elderly suffer most…