How krill fishing threatens whale recovery in Antarctica
Populations of the tiny crustacean - a key food source for whales and dolphins - have declined by 80% since 1970 due mainly to demand for omega-3 health supplements
Biodiversity
The Irish Times view on the Greens’ exit: other parties can no longer shirk
no one party should bear responsibility for defending policies that benefit the whole population
The lakes on our island are treasures in urgent need of protection
Ella McSweeney: Without radical and urgent changes in how we use the land, the future of our most distinctive lakes is bleak
Climate change and even tethered bottle caps have got sucked into the culture wars
A dangerous narrative has crept in, branding any progressive environmental policy as costly, woke, nanny state and an infringement on people’s freedoms
How to achieve farming sustainably in a globally connected world
We have many of the technological tools needed to make significant reductions in emissions
Irish people will die in significant numbers due to rising temperatures, HSE specialist claims
Healthcare is at climate frontline, notably in emergency departments and at primary care level, conference hears
Ireland’s failure to investigate floating wind farms is shameful
Are Irish winds and waves so different that we have to re-invent wind energy technology?
Sally Rooney: When are we going to have the courage to stop the climate crisis?
Capitalism is driving the destruction of our planet. We have to think outside – and against – the framework of our current political system
Angel sharks are now so rare that maritime scientists can go an entire career without seeing one
Clew Bay and Tralee Bay are their last known refuges here, where their numbers are so low it may be too late to help them. Still, scientists refuse to give up hope
Eel or rare river lamprey? Something comes a-slithering from the stream
Éanna Ní Lamhna on a German wasp, a ruby tiger moth caterpillar, and a Cormorant on the Dodder
Where plankton fits in the Earth’s ecosystem
Organism gives sea its distinctive smell and promotes creation of clouds, thereby playing a significant role in global climate
These might look like storybook mushrooms. But there’ll be no happily-ever-after if you eat them
Éanna Ní Lamhna on a dead 6ft leatherback turtle, a red garden spider, and the flowering lives of dandelions
A call to climate action
What needs to happen to save ourselves, our species and planet? Eight climate-conscious individuals offer their take
Once feared extinct in Ireland, the secretive nightjar calls again
The confirmation revives the question of whether nightjars could have a more hopeful future in Ireland than previously believed
Biodoveristy specialists Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering raises $2m in funding round
Company is focused on restoring sensitive ecosystems by planting seagrass at a tenth of the cost of comparable systems
Ireland can play pivotal role in ensuring global food security while meeting challenge of an overheating planet
If Ireland delivers a credible food/health/climate strategy for the 2025 conferences it should open longer-term possibilities
New standard backed by Amazon’s climate fund may help restore peatlands
Certification to help farmers and landowners prove benefits of bog restoration projects and attract investment
UN biodiversity summit comes to abrupt end as deal on global nature fund falls through
‘This is a delay we can’t afford as we see alarming evidence on a weekly basis the Earth is moving towards dangerous environmental tipping points’, said Grace Carr of Irish Wildlife Trust
Cop29: Can a bloated and cumbersome process undermined by self-interest deliver for our planet?
Baku conference offers opportunities to help avoid climate catastrophe, despite the obstacles
Ardnacrusha is an ecological catastrophe that has devastated the Shannon and its salmon
Consecutive Irish governments have sanctioned the plundering of salmon stocks
What is this hairy creature I found clinging to a jumper on my washing line?
Eanna Ní Lamhna addresses your notes and queries, and explains how badgers could help save potatoes
Frustration at failure to deliver funding surfaces at UN biodiversity summit as talks go into final hours
Governments still need to protect an area of land equivalent to combined size of Brazil and Australia
Killarney National Park’s 60th birthday: A time for deep reflection and radical reform
‘Our parks must have nature at the forefront of their concerns’
Malcolm Noonan tells Cop16 Ireland making progress in ending biodiversity loss
Finance to protect some of the world’s most important ecosystems remains main block to progress at global gathering
Éanna Ní Lamhna: ‘In 1970 we had twice as much biodiversity as we have now. Twice as much: 90 per cent of our curlews are gone’
The wildlife expert on her new book of Irish biodiversity, staying hopeful, and why dandelions are better than daffodils
An otter spotter’s paradise in Co Donegal
Éanna Ní Lamhna on the limitations of Google, the kestrel’s talent for spotting mouse pee, and a very large caterpillar
Climate policies point to ‘catastrophic rise’ in global temperature, says UN report
Rich countries told they must close ‘emissions gap’ before the key 1.5 degree target is lost
A robust science vision must ensure climate and biodiversity research tops national agenda
Thinking in a Climate Emergency: Artificial Intelligence provides immense opportunity for Ireland, if we can address its voracious requirement for power
Cop summits must address biodiversity and climate crises in an integrated way
Alignment of biodiversity and climate finance would enable win-win solutions to be more easily implemented
Global carbon emissions from forest fires have increased 60% in past 20 years, study finds
Increases in extent and severity of forest wildfires most notable across vast areas of the northern hemisphere and undermines their critical role in storing carbon
‘It tasted good’: Inuk hunter eats brent goose being tracked by Irish schoolchildren
TV series hopes to help build a battalion of young ‘goose detectives’ monitoring flight paths from Ireland to Arctic - and back
Deposit return scheme leads to ‘massive reduction’ in plastic bottles and drinks containers found on shores by Coastwatch
Environmental group seeking citizen scientists to complete 2024 survey, especially in northwest and Northern Ireland
We have a problem with squirrels in our garden. What can we do to keep them at bay?
Fionnuala Fallon: As charming as their arboreal acrobatics might be to watch, grey squirrels can be a real problem in Irish gardens
Co-ordinated action on biodiversity loss can help reduce risk of ‘ecosystem collapse’, climate council says
Greater focus needed on biodiversity conservation and restoration in the fight against climate change
Can Lough Neagh be saved by challenge-oriented prize funding?
The North’s Department of Environment has awarded £450,000 to five bidders to tackle algal blooms
Ecosystem collapse is no longer in the realm of science fiction. It is upon us
From the reduction of forest cover from a high of 80% to its current 1-2% to the near total removal of seabed habitats, ecosystem collapse is evident throughout Ireland and beyond
Irish climate to become ‘unrecognisable’ if action on emissions is delayed
Ireland has almost no pristine rivers left and is producing ‘more waste than ever’, State of Environment report finds
The Irish Times view on the Irish environment: a deepening crisis
The poor state of the physical environment could undermine food security and erode wild spaces
Restoring the Wicklow hills: ‘It’s like the Sahara at times up there with peat moving around like sand dunes in the desert’
Degradation of upland habitats has led to reduced grazing potential, decline of vegetation and the loss of iconic birds such as the curlew and skylarks
Nature-based solutions to climate change are all around us
Our planet is experiencing rapid climate changes because nature is unable to keep pace with human activity
Ireland could slash emissions by embracing circular economy - study
Country lagging behind in green construction when it could help meet housing demand, FII tells Oireachtas group
First planetary health check issues Earth red alert
Six out of nine boundaries continue to be breached, soon to be followed by dangerous levels of ocean acidification
‘Witness trees’ to track Irish climate change over coming decades
TCD researchers to also pinpoint which species best clean air and eliminate smog
Female sperm whales becoming more frequent off the coast of Ireland
Study examined available historical and contemporary data from whaling, stranding, and sighting records between 1910 and 2023
Two of State’s largest landowners sign co-operation deal on restoring nature
Coillte and National Parks and Wildlife Service agree framework to co-operate on conservation
Cork farmer uprooted 250 trees in case of ‘environmental terrorism’
Daniel Finn (70s) pleads guilty to offences contrary to the Wildlife Act after ‘extensive’ and ‘reckless’ clearance for farming
There have only been seven Irish records of this huge moth, the last in 1997
Éanna Ní Lamhna on the oleander moth, a fine feather and a fish that could bite a finger off
What are we to deduce from a couple of gay penguins going through highs and lows of life together?
It is wrong to expect animals to show us how to live, no matter how cute they are
Farmed salmon enter largest wild fishery in west of Ireland after Killary Harbour escape
Escapees ‘pose a significant risk to wild Atlantic salmon populations’ returning to spawn, says fisheries agency
A wealth of late-blooming plants are bright stars of the autumn garden
What the daisy family, Asteraceae, have in common is daisy-shaped flowers and ability to feed bees, butterflies, hoverflies and many other pollinating insects
Decline of Irish insects reflects inconsistent approach to protecting endangered species
While pollinators have captured the public imagination, other groups such as ants, aquatic flies and beetles are overlooked
Building houses can be compatible with the creation of new habitats for wildlife
Ella McSweeney: London and Amsterdam offer good examples, and Bray developers could factor in new research showing the extraordinary array of species in the town
Deep sea mining below the oceans
Q&A with Olive Heffernan; ‘We’re looking at taking this practice which is notoriously destructive, and allowing it encroach on one of our most fragile ecosystems’
Keep turbines away from endangered terns on island off north Dublin coast, environmentalists warn
Environmental group lodges objection to large wind farm proposed for Irish Sea off north Dublin
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