Criminal gangs are increasingly smuggling Russian timber into China for manufacture into baby cribs, picture frames and toilet seats sold in the west. Those trying to thwart them face violence and corruption. Sebastian Strangio reports from Vladivostok
Siberian tigers under threat as 'timber mafia' devastate Russian forests Sebastian Strangio | 11th May 2011 News Politics And Economics Illegal Logging Deforestation Crime Timber Trade logging02.jpg …
Thanks to an increasingly aggressive US foreign policy pursued over decades, NATO nuclear missiles and armed forces are poised on Russia's border, writes Conn Hallinan - forcing it to abandon its 'no first use of nuclear weapons' pledge in view of the massively asymmetrical threat it faces. The world must step back from the brink of nuclear annihilation.
… another round of warhead reductions, the Russians turned it down cold, citing the … a cold war to a hot war." In response, the Russians have also held war games involving up … Center, told the Financial Times - that the Russians have abandoned their 'no first use' …
Russia's decision to ban the import and exports of harp seal skins is a big step forward for the campaign against the Canadian seal hunt, says Robbie Marsland, Director of IFAW-UK
Seal pups 'sliced open alive': horror of Canadian hunt prompts Russian skins ban Robbie Marsland | 23rd December 2011 Comment Seal Natural World Wildlife Comment signed_sealed_01.jpg Seal hunting …
The world's largest rainforest is under combined threat from deforestation and human-caused climate change. In an interview with the Ecologist, tropical forest expert Dr Simon Lewis explains what is happening
Dr Simon Lewis: we're playing Russian roulette with a large portion of the Amazon Tom Levitt | 27th May 2011 Comment Amazon Deforestation Climate Change Carbon Sink Carbon Emissions s_lewisbw.jpg Dr …
Official recycling rates in Russia stand at close to zero, writes Minna Halme. But my study of the potential to develop the sector uncovered widespread informal recycling networks, lurking in basements, stigmatised for supposed links to organised crime, barely tolerated by the authorities. And any ideas of legitimising the shadowy recycling operations are met with frosty official silence.
… and recycling methods that would encourage Russians to recycle. Baltika wanted to set up … a heavily stigmatised activity and ordinary Russians make an effort not to be seen doing … a heavily stigmatised activity and ordinary Russians make an effort not to be seen doing …
Ice melt in the Arctic Ocean is opening up previously untouched areas to industrial fishing fleets using ecologically risky bottom trawling methods, writes Joe Sandler Clarke. Ecosystems supporting walruses, polar bears, puffins and other sea birds could be stripped bare.
Arctic warming opens pristine ocean to predatory trawling Joe Sandler Clarke Greenpeace Energydesk | 3rd March 2016 News Marine Environment Fishing Climate Change Arctic fishing trawler making its …
Almost entirely unknown to the outside world, and even to most local residents, hundreds of square kilometres of South Africa's Karoo dryland have been bought up by uranium mining companies, writes Dr Stefan Cramer. With no strategic assessment of the industry's devastating impacts and massive water demand, official permission could soon be granted for vast open pit mines.
Uranium mining threatens South Africa‘s iconic Karoo Dr Stefan Cramer | 28th April 2016 News Nuclear Mining South Africa Namibia Russia Pollution Water The Land Fracking 7 - drilling and blasting …
Plans for undersea nuclear power reactors around the coast of France could see a boom in uptake of the technology - but serious questions about costs and waste disposal remain unanswered
… interested in offshore nuclear power. The Russians have already developed the design for …
The isolation of the white wilderness is coming to an end. Scientists and activists are urging caution but Russia is leading an urgent rush to exploit the Arctic’s oil and gas reserves. Tom Levitt reports
Putin’s Russia will lead a ‘new era of Arctic industrialisation’ Tom Levitt | 19th October 2011 News Arctic Russia Climate Change Natural World arctic2.jpg The Arctic could be ice-free in Summer …
President-elect Trump's widely anticipated appointment of Exxon's CEO Rex Tillerson as new US Secretary of State is creating a government of, by, and for the oil and gas industry, writes Steve Horn.
Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson new US Secretary of State? Steve Horn DeSmogBlog | 12th December 2016 News Politics Oil Gas Energy Climate Change USA tillerson-putin-cut.jpg President-elect Trump's widely …
A vital nature preserve in western Siberia, and the indigenous peoples that inhabit it, are at risk from oil development, write Elena Sakirko & Konstantin Fomin. Oil giant Surgutneftegas is already active in the Numto Park, but now they want to extend operations into its fragile wetlands, putting at risk snow cranes, the Heavenly Lake, and the survival of the Nenet and Khanty peoples.
… have lived in harmony with nature. Russians across the country have joined a call …
The world's largest rainforest is ravaged by deforestation and two recent droughts. If they continue, says one expert, the Amazon risks entering a period where it can no longer be relied upon to absorb more greenhouse gas emissions than it produces
Is the Amazon heading towards a 'tipping point' as a carbon sink? Tom Levitt | 27th May 2011 News Amazon Deforestation Carbon Dioxide Carbon Sink Climate Change amazon.jpg Unlike Arctic sea-ice, it …
The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe may have scared most of the world off nuclear power, write Jan Haverkamp & Iryna Holovko. But mysteriously, not Ukraine, where the reactor meltdown actually took place. Thirty years on more than half of Ukraine's electricity is still nuclear, while the power sector is dominated by powerful oligarchs. So what are the chances of a post-nuclear Ukraine?
Thirty years after Chernobyl, what chance of a post-nuclear Ukraine? Jan Haverkamp Iryna Holovko | 26th April 2016 Comment Ukraine Nuclear Energy Renewables Solar Russia Belarus Corporations …
Should oil and gas companies be sponsoring the arts? No, says the man behind the unconventional pressure group that's tackling the 'carbon web of institutions'
Platform: attempting to drive a wedge between the Tate Modern and BP Matilda Lee | 18th February 2011 Activism Society Climate Change And Energy Bp Liberate Tate Platform Art Not Oil Tate How To Make …
Whether you're after an locally reared turkey or a handmade ethical gift, a festive fair is where you'll find them. The Ecologist has the lowdown on Europe's best Christmas markets
Top 10…Christmas markets Sophie Laggan | 28th November 2011 Ethical Living Christmas Markets Christmas Shopping Derby Newcastle Jersey Edinburgh Copenhagen The Killing Munich Vienna Food And Drink …
As a new oil-fever gathers pace in Arctic countries such as Greenland the lesson from history is that where there is oil, corruption will quickly follow. Eifion Rees reports
How oil and corruption have become so closely linked Eifion Rees | 19th October 2011 News Oil Arctic Natural World Corruption Politics And Economics Transparency International arctic3.jpg There is no …
The Western North Pacific gray whale is under threat of extinction, say WWF, as Russia plans a third oil platform off Sakhalin Island
Russia's ambitions for oil off Sakhalin Island could wipe out whale species Katharine Helmore | 18th January 2011 News Whales Oil Energy Russia Natural World graywhales.jpg The Western North Pacific …
The Arctic is becoming a battleground as Russia, Norway, Canada and the US vie for access to oil, gas and minerals – campaigners fear safety and the environment will be the losers
… as saying regular military flights by the Russians up and down Norway's coast had helped …
Belarus may have taken the brunt of the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, writes Kieran Cooke. But now it's pushing ahead with its own nuclear power station at Ostrovets - just 50km from Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, where the project is causing widespread public concern.
Thirty years after Chernobyl, Belarus goes nuclear Kieran Cooke | 25th April 2016 News Nuclear Russia Belarus Lithuania Energy novovoronezh_nuclear_power_plant_ii-cut.png Belarus may have taken the …
'Fast breeder' reactors are promoted by nuclear enthusiasts as the clean, green energy technology of the future, writes Jim Green. But all the evidence tells us they are a catastrophic failure: complex, expensive, unreliable and accident-prone. Is Japan's decision to abandon its Monju reactor the latest nail in the coffin of a dead technology? Or the final stake through its rotten heart?
Japan abandons Monju fast reactor: the slow death of a nuclear dream Dr Jim Green | 6th October 2016 News Nuclear Energy Technology Japan France Russia India China US Germany Italy …
Quebec is set to bring in North America’s first cap-and-trade system from January 2012. But debate still rages about its usefulness
Quebec to beat California in setting up first carbon market in North America Henry Gass | 20th July 2011 News Cap And Trade Canada Carbon Tax Carbon Market quebec.jpg The Canadian province of Quebec …
Undercover filming by the Environmental Investigation Agency has unearthed shocking evidence of military involvement in the illegal timber trade, all to feed western demand for stylish wood products, according to Faith Doherty
Revealed: how the Vietnamese military fuels destruction of Laos' forests Faith Doherty | 28th July 2011 Comment Illegal Logging EIA Timber Trade Forests Politics And Economics Comment …
With a bigger spotlight than ever on the role of banks in funding fossil fuel projects we report on unethical and environmentally damaging investments by Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
Barclays, HSBC and RBS linked to 'dirty financing' for fossil fuels Henry Gass | 14th June 2011 News Banks Politics And Economics RBS Barclays HSBC Fossil Fuels dirtybanks.jpg RBS, Barclays and HSBC …
We may never know, argues Eve Mitchell, because the nature of our complex and highly industrial food systems is making it far harder to determine what happened
… fruit and vegetables more generally, with the Russians halting European imports and advice …