Won’t fund firms contributing to climate change: Church of England

The Church plans to withdraw investment from companies that don’t follow the terms of the Paris Agreement

Book excerpt: How the Suez canal was built

Bob Brier’s 2022 book sheds light on the role played by Bonaparte and his rivals, the British in one of the most important human-made …

From ‘biologically dead’ to chart-toppingly clean: how the Thames made an extraordinary recovery over 60 years

More investment is needed in new drainage infrastructure across the city to avoid damage from increasingly frequent storm surges and overflows if …

Chalk streams: why ‘England’s rainforests’ are so rare and precious

England’s chalk streams support a wide variety of biodiversity; but anthropogenic pressures are destroying these icons of English culture

Did you think obesity can't get to the poor? Think again

Obesity is increasing the most among England’s poorest, especially women, a recent report by a think tank has said

‘Gray blanket’ over Australia: Genetics may have aided European rabbit invasion of continent in 1859, says study

Researchers managed to trace the ancestry of Australia’s invasive rabbit population right back to the southwest of England

Food as history: Cambridge studies cast new light on early Anglo-Saxon kings’ relations with peasants by studying their diets

The studies note that social status did not lead to kings and nobles eating more meat than peasants; but once a year, both did gorge on animals …

Tale of two Roses: How one discovered another, 125 years ago

How rosarian MS Viraraghavan and his wife Girija introduced Richard Rose, a water rose named after the man who discovered it in the 19th century&…

A history of Easter feasts and why the English breakfast might be medieval

Medieval European history gives us an idea as to how modern Easter feasts in Western culture may have evolved

Wildlife wonders of Britain and Ireland before the industrial revolution

From the early 16th century to the late 18th, the prevailing belief was that God had furnished Britain and Ireland with wildlife to serve human needs

England may be set to flood at the end of winter — here’s why

Driven by a La Niña event, exacerbated by urban development in areas prone to flooding and the impacts of climate change, the effects …

2014 was the UK’s warmest year on record

It was also the fourth wettest year in records dating back to 1910, the UK Met office said

Church of England to explore gender-neutral terms for God — women clergy’s suggestions for replacing ‘Our Father’

Official Christian doctrine is that God has no gender; yet “He” is described almost exclusively in masculine terms

Farmers at Singhu and Tikri have a host of global peasant revolts to look up to

As the farmer protests continue in Delhi, we examine other instances in world history when cultivators have rebelled

Not global warming: Reemergence of ‘extinct' black-veined butterfly in England likely due to unscientific release

Unregulated introduction disrupts actual conservation efforts and is condemned by scientists

Patterns in the sky

It is that time of the year again when starlings roam the skies in huge swarms that form distinct patterns. Down To Earth tells you more about …

60% European water bodies highly polluted: study

European Environmental Agency, in its study, finds English rivers, lakes and estuaries to be among the worst

Rare copy of world’s first geological map of a nation found

The map and its theories, prepared by William Smith in the nineteenth century, led to the development of geology

Sri Lanka is not anybody’s dumping ground

In a major win, the country's Court of Appeals recently ordered the repatriation of hazardous waste imported from the UK

Inflatable incubator design wins James Dyson Award

The device, which costs just $400, has the same features as a modern incubation system costing $45,000

Ebola more deadly for children under 4 years

Young children more at risk than adults as the mean incubation period, the average time from infection until the onset of symptoms, is shorter

More than 20,000 Ebola cases likely by November, forecasts WHO

The United Nations has already called for 20-fold increase in assistance to control the outbreak in West Africa

UK paid £43 billion in green taxes in 2013

The figure was the highest ever for the country, with the majority of the environmental taxes paid by the commercial sector

UK’s obesity epidemic worse than feared, says study

National Obesity Forum recommends hard-hitting public health campaigns to tackle the problem

Thar she blows: An ice-free Northwest Passage has enabled the Gray Whale’s return to New England

Last seen in the age of commercial whaling, an ice-free Passage enabled the species to travel from Pacific to Atlantic