The water footprint: the hidden cost of our meat consumption

Arjen Y. Hoekstra

2nd September, 2010

Watching our leaky taps is the least of our problems when it comes to water wastage - agricultural practices and animal products are by far the greater danger more...

Atlantic Rising: sea level rise threatens the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela

Will Lorimer

1st September, 2010

Rising sea levels are forcing the migration of indigenous peoples and threatening the freshwater ecosystem of catfish and piranha found in the Orinoco Delta near the coast of Venezuela more...

Starting a business has never been so liberating...

Tom Hodgkinson

25 August 2010

Find the hidden entrepreneur in you to free yourself from slavery to corporate and state authority, says Tom Hodgkinson more...

Letter: water use need not stall desert solar power

Dr Gerry Wolff

25th August, 2010

Yes, pioneering concentrating solar power plants are thirsty facilities, but their water use requirements could be made dramatically less more...

Greening my office: can't we all just go camping instead of jetting off overseas?

Sylvia Sunshine

17th August, 2010

As her colleagues jet off to sunnier climes, Sylvia tackles the thorny issue of eco holidays - but will she pluck up the courage to confront her boss over his second home? more...

Forget the 'big society'; we just need a co-operative one

Molly Scott Cato

16th August, 2010

Claims that we need a 'big society' to fix our 'broken' one are just Victorian throwbacks - we have the business tools to survive; we just need a co-operative attitude to go with them more...

Europe shows how local communities can make money from renewables

Kate Hathway

13th August, 2010

Kate Hathway from the local communities charity Urban Forum says we should look to Europe for tips on successful community renewable energy projects more...

Life without supermarkets: community action is the best way to beat them

Laura Laker

10th August, 2010

A hypermarket victory in Hackney demonstrates how local groups can help protect community shops... more...

The Government has seriously miscalculated the cost of green homes

David Thorpe

9th August, 2010

There's a lot of nonsense talked, bought and done when it comes to eco-retrofitting houses. David Thorpe's new book sorts the wheat from the chaff, and challenges some green orthodoxies... more...

Policymakers recognise peak oil threat, now they need to deal with it

Lionel Badal

2nd August, 2010

Most officials in both Europe and the UK still believe peak oil is a problem the markets will solve. That's a dangerous game to play with our energy supplies, says Lionel Badal more...

Come get a proper education with the Idler Academy

Tom Hodgkinson

30th July, 2010

Tom launches the Idler Academy to teach us good grammar, sadly lacking practical skills like carpentry and lastly, of course, merriment more...

Starting out: how Teddy Goldsmith launched the Ecologist 40 years ago

Peter Bunyard

26th July, 2010

Running a magazine on a shoestring budget; printing unpopular but groundbreaking analyses; fighting off lawsuits: the Ecologist has evolved over its 40 year history, but the passion present in 1970 is still here today... more...