Sustainability

Italy's populist government recently called for migrant search and rescue boats to be pulled back. MARC BRIGHTMAN argues the country's social and economical problems are best addressed together as issues of sustainability

We need to break down the perceived barrier between farming and the environment to restore the health of our soil and water - and of the human and non-human life they sustain. ELIZABETH WAINWRIGHT, a contributing editor to The Ecologist, argues we also need to better understand the connections between them

The Anthropocene appears to be an epoch of destruction and extinction. But professors SIMON L LEWIS and MARK A MASLIN, authors of Human Planet argue that two simple and increasingly popular ideas - the Universal Basic Income and Half Planet - could finally transform human society into a sustainable - and pleasant - place

A team of researchers is tracking and trying to understand what they call the most influential movement of our time: environmentalism. They give the state of play on a global conflict that is playing out at the local level in a special feature called The EJAtlas: Ecological Distribution Conflicts as Forces for Sustainability. By LEAH TEMPER, FEDERICO DEMARIA, ARNIM SCHEIDEL, DANIELA DEL BENE and JOAN MARTINEZ-ALIER

General Systems Theory can be a useful tool for understanding nature, and how society can exist in harmony of nature. The seminal book Limits to Growth used a systemic analysis - but was itself limited. Dr ROBERT BIEL examines how the systemic view can shed light on the colonial history of the North / West and the role it plays in the world's extractive present

'Ecoliteracy' is urgent and necessary if we are going to build resilient and sustainable human communities that work with the patterns, structures and limitations of the natural environment. FRITJOF CAPRA, a physicist, argues that systems thinking is a crucial component of this new understanding

The major US brands that do place a high value on sustainable production methods can now add a new certification to their eco credentials. But to become Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) requires an increased commitment to soil health, animal welfare and farm labour, as CATHERINE HARTE reports

Academic FEDERICO DEMARIA will be addressing staff at the European Commission today in a keynote speech about the crucial issues of economic growth and environmental degradation. He asks, is the well-being of the individual, societies and nations possible beyond economic growth?

Trends shaping consumerism, transport and farming could provide answers for some of the world’s sustainability problems, according to the think tank Forum for the Future. CATHERINE EARLY reports

Shopping is about to reach frenzy levels as the to-do list gets ever longer. And then there is that wonderful person in your life whose present cannot be fur, meat, plastic - or boring. BRENDAN MONTAGUE asked ethical companies for their best gift ideas this Christmas.

Christmas has become a festival of consumerism, rather than giving and family. So how do we fulfil the social expectation to find perfect, novel presents without sending more plastic to landfill. BRENDAN MONTAGUE and LAURA BRIGGS try and find some nice stuff that might just be a little more sustainable.

Britain's biggest firms are being advised to decarbonise before Brexit so they can compete with foreign competitors, reports BRENDAN MONTAGUE.

The law of unintended consequences is usually assumed to mean the best will in the world can still cause terrible harm. But the need to understand the causes of climate change is forcing societies to address other risks from industrial production, argues NATALIE BENNETT.

An ecostay in South India is developing an ambitious plan to expand into the education sector, nearly three years after its launch ROBYN WILSON reports

Editor Dr SANDRA PIESIK discusses her new book Habitat: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Planet and how it examines what the traditions of vernacular architecture, and its regional craftspeople around the world, can teach us about creating a more sustainable future.

LIZ HOSKEN tells how bringing together African and Amazonian peoples has informed a campaign for a new Earth jurisprudence.

When our Ethical Foodie food columnist was invited to help create a sustainable Fine Dining menu showcasing the values of the UN's World Food Program he jumped at the chance - and left feeling inspired not just by the food choices on the night but by the fact the whole event reinforced his conviction we can all do better, eat better and work together to help alleviate hunger across the world

We need a new paradigm for ocean governance focused on well-being and guided by principles of sustainability, ecosystem health, precaution and interconnectedness, argues MICHELLE BENDER of the US based Earth Law Centre.

As the Brexit negotiations begin, a coalition of grassroots food and farming organisations today launch ‘A People's Food Policy' calling for England to develop a more progressive food policy in advance of leaving the EU. Scotland is already in the process of adopting national food policies and is currently developing a ‘Good Food Nation Bill', while England has yet to make any progress

A local food-production scheme, dedicated to conservation and sustainability in East Sussex, has been crowdfunding to finance the legal battle that will see it in the High Court today. The Crossing - a micro-farm providing affordable and pesticide free food for the surrounding Forest Row community - is taking its local council to the High Court to challenge a decision to turn down its application for planning permission and, say the petitioners, to fight for the rights of small food growers. MATTHEW NEWSOME reports

The winner of the 2017 Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy and Water - announced today (12th June, 2017) - is Futurepump, which manufactures an affordable, highly efficient and portable solar irrigation pump aimed at the millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya and around the world, writes CHHAVI SHARMA

By shifting from globalisation to localisation, and creating smaller, self-sufficient communities within sustainable developments, cities could regain their equilibrium, writes Paul Jones. From where we stand today, the Organicity may sound like a Utopian dream. But if we're to avoid an urban apocalypse, we're going to need strong alternative visions, to change the way we imagine and plan for the cities of the future. Too good to be true? Or the way to human survival?

Women are not just a ‘tool' for social and environmental justice - they are agents of real change, and have the right to be engaged in all climate negotiations. ARTHUR WYNS reports on current moves to empower women to tackle climate change

Ethical foodie columnist TIM MADDAMS points the finger at fishing practices which may tick the sustainable criteria boxes but which perpetuate an environmentally damaging broken food production system when you take into account the bigger picture