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Environmental Journalism

Cumbria Coal Mine: a testament to the influence or insignificance of public opinion?

As recent Newcastle University graduates, our proximity to Cumbria, and thus the highly public, environmentally-centred row over the construction of Cumbria Coal Mine meant that we closely followed the controversy throughout our time at university. Now, just two days from the beginning of the public inquiry expected to last until mid-September, its significance as a precedent of the value of public opinion is clearer than ever.
The Courier Online •

Regenerative cotton: the solution to ecological clothes manufacturing?

In September, the clothes brand Patagonia made headlines for what many have called one of their boldest moves yet: a simple tag on the inside of their new line of shorts reading the four word message "Vote the a**holes out". While Patagonia has always been vocal about the inability of politicians to prioritise climate change, previously suing the Trump administration to protect national monuments, the message was not the only reason that the shorts, which sold out rapidly, attracted the attentio
The Courier Online •

Why “flight shame” will soon take off in the UK - and this isn’t a bad thing

You’d be forgiven for hearing the words “flight shame” and looking puzzled while on UK soil; in Sweden, however, “flygskam” has rapidly become a part of everyday vocabulary.

Coined in 2018, and attributed in part to the ever increasing influence of Time Magazine’s person of the year Greta Thunberg, the Swedish term aims to increase travellers’ accountability for the emissions produced while flying. And the impact of this awareness is undoubtable; Airport operator Swedavia point to the climate c
The Courier Online •

It’s not looking good for Santa: Arctic melt at almost all-time high at the end of summer 2020

Arctic sea ice shrank to its second lowest recorded extent in September 2020, measuring a mere 3.74 million square kilometres - just over half of the long-term average of 6.4 million square kilometres. Rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice has been apparent since the 1980s; the area is particularly sensitive to anthropogenically-induced climate change, as reductions in reflectivity caused by ice retreat and open ocean exposure leads to a 70% increase in solar radiation absorption.

The implications of
Word Forest •

How the UK’s changing climate affected wildlife in 2021

When discussing the impacts of the climate crisis on wildlife, plant and animal species in the UK are often overlooked, with focus instead directed towards the countries being most severely impacted by climate change-induced phenomena such as cyclones, droughts and flooding. However, a recent National Trust audit, published at the end of 2021, painted a rather grim picture of how the UK’s changing climate is affecting native biodiversity, which, according to recent estimates, has declined by alm
The Courier Online •

The worrying rise in temperatures in Svalbard

Recent reports of Arctic air temperatures hitting their second highest recorded levels in 2020, while troubling, are not necessarily shocking. Arctic amplification, the process that causes the Arctic to warm roughly twice as fast as elsewhere on the globe, means that temperature records in the region are broken on an almost annual basis, a phenomenon that the IPCC predict will continue into the future.

But alongside the record temperature highs came a colder-than-average year for parts of Green
Natural History Society of Northumbria •

Abundant acorns on the forest floor - is 2020 a mast year?

Those who enjoy a venture into nature’s many corners around Northumberland may have noticed something unusual in the recent autumnal months; a greater than usual flurry of maple seeds (often known as “helicopters”) and acorns littering the forest floor. This has prompted naturalists to conclude that 2020 is likely a mast year for British woodland species, a year in which trees such as oak, beech and maple produce bumper crops of fruit. Mast years generally occur between every five and ten years
The Courier Online •

Almost 500 pilot whales beached in Australia's largest ever stranding

470 long-finned pilot whales were found stranded on the Australian coast of Tasmania last month in the country’s worst ever mass stranding, eclipsing the previous record of 320 in 1996.

An estimated 270 whales were found on a beach near the west coast of Strahan, Tasmania, on Monday 21st of September. Another 200, believed to be part of the same pod, were spotted the following day less than 10km south.

While rescuers managed to save over 100 of the stranded whales in a five-day rescue effort i

Environmental Copywriting

James Ellis •

Our Wrapping Paper Journey

The environmental concerns that come with manufacturing wrapping paper has meant that we’ve resisted retailing it for some years now. Typically, wrapping paper is distributed in plastic packs containing 25 sheets — not exactly aligning with our recent move away from plastic packaging!

But, thanks to our wonderful printers, we managed to find a solution! Our wrapping paper is now being delivered directly to our office in bulk, with paper tabs marking batches of 25. And to avoid the environmental

Research Articles