Land grabbers: Africa’s hidden revolution
Vast swaths of Africa are being bought up by oligarchs, sheikhs and agribusiness corporations. But, as this extract from The Land Grabbers explains, centuries of history are being destroyedOmot Ochan was sitting in a remnant of forest on an old waterbu...
Fred Pearce on land grabbing
The science and environment author discusses a growing global threat• Read an extract from Fred Pearce's new book The Land GrabbersWhat inspired you to write The Land Grabbers?Over the last few years, I became aware of this hidden revolution taking p...
Fred Pearce’s top 10 eco-books
From the despair of nuclear bombs to the hope of nuclear technology, the environment journalist picks out green books that are both positive and negative about our planet's futureI am not a tree hugger. Nor a people hater. For me, as an environment j...
A hymn to Terra Britannica
A flamboyant history of Planet England and a sensorily supercharged call to get back to the landJacquetta Hawkes's extraordinary book A Land, first published in 1951, begins with a warning that is also a boast. "I have used the findings of the two scie...
Notes & Queries: Are snooker players more skilful than pool players?
Plus: Austerity philosophy – Popper or Socrates? Life-cycle of a tree; Formula One on the M1Snooker tables are much bigger than pool tables, so are snooker players much more skilful than pool players?The best pool players are very skilful but I'd arg...
Walden Woods video game will recreate the world of Thoreau
Author's response to Massachusetts landscape immortalised in his writings will underpin development of grant-funded gameIts lack of thrills, spills and multiple deaths means it is unlikely to appeal to fans of Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, but a v...
The talking penguin’s guide to climate change
Darryl Cunningham is using the graphic novel format to address the most serious issues in science and to fight disinformation"The argument for human-driven climate change is as follows…" says the talking penguin to the man in the red jacket in the mi...
Can whales predict tsunamis?
A British photographer witnessed a school of whales vanishing during an underwater earthquake. Could they serve as 'canaries' for humans?Do whales hear earthquakes long before humans? As tsunami warnings hit the Indonesian and Sri Lankan coasts last w...
Wind mast to be built on moors that inspired Wuthering Heights
Campaigners fear move paves way for wind turbines that will deface landscape of historical and cultural significanceHad the Brontë sisters been alive today, campaigners claim they would have been horrified by the plans to build giant wind turbines on ...
Heathcliff and Cathy, out on the wild, windfarmed moors | Lucy Mangan
Plans for a Banks Renewables windfarm in Brontë country are advancing. Lucy Mangan re-imagines Wuthering Heights"Oh Heathcliff! Why have you done this terrible, terrible thing?" sobbed Cathy, sinking to the ground and fairly beating the moorland with ...
Fancy a doomsday date? If things get really bad, it may be your best bet | Alice Bell
If you find people on Soulmates are poorly prepared for disaster, try hooking up with those serious about surviving an apocalypse"Doomsday dating" really does exist: websites designed to match those with particular skills and resources for dealing with...
The white whale’s dark message | Philip Hoare