Environmental science

With cash, equipment and time on their hands, holidaymakers can add scale to citizen science projects, review finds

Ruby Guyatt enjoys a wide-ranging account of how developments in religion have often been shaped by changes in the climate

University of East Anglia researcher impressed by on-screen portrayal in climate science drama

John Gilbey is intrigued and disturbed by an occasionally irreverent account of how environmental disaster haunts popular culture 

Jason Watkins stars in show exploring human costs and political ramifications of hacking of emails from University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit in 2009

John Barry enjoys a bold attempt to rethink our political priorities in the light of the ecological crisis

Richard J. Williams applauds an unusually optimistic case for environmentalism

The glaciologist discusses falling in love with ‘ice rivers’, how emergency brain surgery changed her outlook, and the tragedy of global warming

Nicholas Till reflects on the path that has led him from research on opera to direct political action

We cannot engage people in discussion about drought, wildfires or climate change if we fail to acknowledge the emotions they generate, claims book

ANU vows to be a negative net emitter by the end of the decade, as Adelaide unveils the panels and batteries powering its country campus

Countries are choosing regional partners over Western giants, Nature Index data show

Partnerships are vital in addressing global problems, sector leaders say

Academics’ desire to help the planet being ‘lost amid the realities of being a researcher’, survey concludes

‘Confusion’ over UN rules leads event organisers to bar students, experts or groups

Threats to environment too great to leave education to scientists alone, says Harvard professor Fernando Reimers

Universities should capitalise on their students as an asset, says UN environment expert

Tributes paid to a ‘stellar academic’ who was also a ‘remarkable activist’ and ‘great adventurer’

The history lecturer and author of Rummage: A History of the Things We Have Reused, Recycled and Refused to Let Go discusses her fascination with waste and reuse and how to write about ephemeral themes

John Gilbey is fascinated by an ambitious attempt to analyse and address the disastrous human impact on the biosphere

Whether it’s to be ‘business as usual’ or not, social scientists have much to offer in discussion about how to move on after ravages of Covid-19

Pace of disruptive change is falling, claims book by Oxford geographer, who says virus crisis could herald a kinder form of politics

The renewable technologies expert discusses being told there was ‘no future in sustainability’ and why cloning herself would be useful

Frustration as Australian Research Council takes six months to judge applications to support urgent impact assessments

Tributes paid to ‘inspirational’ environmental sociologist who ‘made work feel like play’

Toby Ord urges academics to reflect far more deeply on the risks of everything from asteroids to rogue artificial intelligence

Australian university promises ‘carbon negative’ footprint as v-c reflects on a summer of fire, ice and virus

Tributes paid to ‘insightful’ agricultural ecologist who applied his theoretical understanding to food production around the world

Environmentalist praised by Al Gore as ‘eloquent’ and ‘passionate’ authority on oceanic climate change 

Pioneer of ‘movement ecology’ explains how the new-found ability to track individual animals is leading to fresh insights about their behaviour and societies

Researchers call for end to ‘pervasive illusion that scientists must be dispassionate observers’, and better emotional support

Book of the week: Jules Pretty admires a powerful study of what a declining insect population reveals about how we are treating the planet

Douglas J. Davies considers an analysis of how funerary practices can take much greater account of ecological concerns

Book of the week: Leo Mellor assesses a bold attempt to make the case for literature and criticism in the light of environmental disaster

Ursula King enjoys an insiders’ account of a leading ecological and spiritual thinker

Tributes paid to energy engineer with a passion for helping the environment

Charlotte Davies considers a sobering account of what is happening to our seas

Engagement by students and staff bolstered by mandates from governments cited as key ingredients for success in THE University Impact Rankings tables

The University of Arizona ecologist on Colombia’s natural diversity, her lucky break, and the challenges facing other aspiring scientists

Book of the week: Martin Cohen finds much of interest in a work describing how produce gets to our plates

Elevated output has not come at cost of excellence, research assessment exercise suggests

Investment, not divestment, as university bets the farm on renewables

Book of the week: the continent’s ecosystems have been shaped and reshaped by alien species, says Tom Cameron

Matthew Reisz praises the researchers who go way beyond the call of duty in investigating the world for us all

Duke and Duchess of Sussex highlight universities’ work on climate change resilience and gender equality

Study suggests reproducibility crisis may not be limited to psychology and biomedicine

Seekers of dispassionate truth may be irritated by the moral passion of the likes of Dostoevsky, Zola and Chekhov, but it is a much stronger influence on public opinion, says David Aberbach  

Government pledges huge windfall for research facilities, but much of it will not be seen until the next decade

Tributes paid to hydrogeologist who spent career at Newcastle and Glasgow

Convincing universities to divest from fossil fuels and use only green energy is a better strategy, says Thomas Smith

An environmental biologist’s examination of the books we read during childhood is in equal parts charming and irritating, writes Shelley King

Book of the week: this book offers PhDs sound advice, Jennifer Rohn says, but it skirts the improbability of making it

Excluding local people from conservation is not the way to preserve vital vegetation, as it is they whose practices produce the ecologies we value, finds Steven Yearley

The apparent theft of exam papers in Papua New Guinea suggests to John Warren that we should all be more transparent over marking mishaps   

An expanding research misconduct investigation has stretched its net from the chilly Baltic to an idyllic Queensland island and the grasslands of Saskatchewan

New schemes will provide grants to master’s and PhD students and postdoctoral researchers

Botanist warns of continuing political instability and restrictive legislation on science

Response to US withdrawal from Paris climate accords announces first winners – but has been denounced as a publicity stunt by some French academics

Expansion of league table reveals a more diverse list of countries and institutions

Steven Yearley considers the argument that metropolitan centres, not nation states, hold the power to take the lead on climate change