EarthSky- my new favourite website…
EarthSky is a website that I’ve recently started visiting- and also following through social media channels. With a focus on the natural sciences, but also touching on social sciences and the humanities, it is a fantastic resource of clear and engaging scientific information and knowledge. With contributions from experts and scientists, presented in a simple format (including excellent podcasts and visualisations)- it strikes the balance of trusted information with engaging presentation.
Through its breadth of content coverage- from the micro level, via its material discussing biodiversity on Earth, to the infinitely macro, in its information on space and astronomy- it infers and demonstrates the interdependence and interconnectivity of so many of these issues. Its objective
“To bring the ideas, strategies, and research results of scientists to people around the world, with the goal of illuminating pathways to a sustainable future”
is something that I really admire, and, in some small way, try to aspire to in the content of my blog (particularly from an environmental perspective).
I definitely recommend having a look around the site- and signing up for its facebook/ twitter/ email updates.
(Guardian datablog, while you may have been pushed into second place in my list of favourite websites, I’ll still, nonetheless, come visit you too…)
This is who pays the real cost of cheap clothing on our high street stores.
When it comes to ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ in our lives- there are many. Material goods, enjoyable experiences, loving relationships, education and self-fulfilment, access to health services, freedom of expression, a safe environment, a democratic political system… the list is long.
However, there is no more basic and fundamental need than clean water- without it, we, quite simply, cannot survive.
The recent Greenpeace report ‘Hidden Consequences: The costs of industrial water pollution on people, planet and profit’ highlights the impact of toxic pollution on supplies of freshwater for people, the economy and the environment- both in developed western countries, and in developing nations in the south.
