The rain didn’t start until just after we took our first steps into the Kalinzu Forest. As if on cue, it wouldn’t cease until we climbed back out nearly five hours later. In between it was a steady rain, sometimes a loud pelting on large green leaves the size of doormats, other times soft, sensual drops that drizzled the forest floor with a stream of sloppy kisses. Mostly though, it leaned towards the former.
Continue readingThis will be a fun rabbit hole.
Sir David Attenborough just turned 100. In recognition of his brilliant career and life, here’s everything he’s ever worked on, in one place.
Nearly 5,000 episodes across 90 series — from Zoo Quest in 1954 to Secret Garden in 2026. Search by animal, habitat, location, natural phenomenon, or theme to find exactly the episode you’re looking for.
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Via Kottke.org, still on the shortlist of my favorite old skool blogs.
A visit to an island colony that’s the seasonal home for more than 3,000 pairs of mating Magellanic Penguins.
Continue readingThere’s been lots of talk about the impacts of climate change on the insurance industry in the US, but I haven’t seen too much –besides some anecdotal evidence in the agriculture sector mostly — here in Europe. That is changing.
In Europe, concern over the protection gap – meaning the share of disaster losses that insurance does not cover – is rising. According to EIOPA, the EU’s insurance regulator, 75% of economic losses from natural catastrophes in Europe have historically gone uninsured.
In Germany, the national insurance association has warned that premiums could double within a decade due to climate-driven claims. In France, the national natural disaster scheme, known as CatNat, has been running at a deficit since 2016, prompting the government to raise the compulsory surcharge on all property insurance policies from 12% to 20% in January 2025.
In short, traditional insurance is ill-equipped to confront the reality of climate change. There are, however, alternative models that could provide coverage to people most at risk.
And concludes:
As these innovative solutions emerge, one thing is clear: uninsurable areas are no longer some distant future prospect. Weather-related damage has always happened, but the mechanisms we built to absorb climate risk were designed for a more stable climate. As that stability erodes, the question is no longer whether or not the public sector will need to play a larger role, but how quickly it can be redesigned to do so.
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More specifically, a dozen wildflowers blooming on 5 June 2026 at elevations between 2000 and 2400m, near Lac d’Allos, in France’s Mercantour National Park.
Continue readingDone right, fields where solar panels are now being installed are coming back, healthier, and supporting numerous kinds of wildlife, birds included.
For years, the fear around solar farms has been easy to picture. Rows of dark panels, wide open fields, hot metal under the sun, and barely a bird in sight.
New data from Spain is now pushing back against that image. In several solar plants studied in 2025, researchers found more bird species inside the facilities than in nearby agricultural control areas, suggesting that well-managed solar farms can sometimes become unexpected refuges for wildlife rather than empty industrial spaces.
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An introduction to the largest high altitude alpine Lake in Europe, nestled in an impossibly beautiful setting at an edge of Mercanour National Park in southeast France.
Continue readingBravo. This story is about a small community organisation in a small town trying to keep a racist, sexist, war-mongering white Christian nationalist from speaking at what has always been a solemn ceremony, and succeeding, thanks in large part to him just opening his mouth. Comparing the battle against Fascist forces in Europe in WWII to the forces that drive migration today just shows how loathsome and stupid Hegseth is.
“We found it unbelievable that they could send someone who held views and values contrary to democracy, human rights, peace and Europe,” said resident Chantal Richard. To her, the incongruence felt deeply personal. “We grew up going to D-day ceremonies, some of us had grandparents or parents whose lives were affected by this war.”
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Exactly what the headline says.
“When we are aware of what is happening around us there is so much potential to come together and beautiful things can happen.”
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The best public art involves and invites visitors to interact with it even if it’s just a part of a greater background. Here, it acts as a strong reminder that the triple planetary crisis –climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss– is but a quick glance way.
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Capturing the never-ending dialogue between the present and the past in South America largest indigenous market.
Continue readingThese record high temperatures are part of an alarming long-term trend. From the story:
Temperatures in the Antarctic climbed above 15C this month, shattering the previous winter heat record for the usually frozen region and raising concerns about the speed of climate breakdown.
The new winter peak temperature was logged by the Argentinian Esperanza base on the Trinity peninsula on 6 June amid a protracted heatwave, when the maximum daily temperature exceeded zero degrees for three consecutive weeks.
Scientists said the high of 15.4C broke the previous record set at the same station in 1998 by 2C. “This is absolutely crazy,” said Raúl Cordero, an Ecuadorian climate professor at the University of Groningen. “It is also about 20C above normal for this time of the year. That is a huge anomaly.”
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The mountain chain made famous in The Sound of Music.
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Where the Var River meets the Mediterranean. This month: Whimbrels, Squacco Herons, Stilts and more.
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An introduction to one of Cleveland, Ohio’s best kept secrets.
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Malika Baouya and Scott Moreau, two members of the Global Sumud Flotilla who were detained by Israeli forces in international waters last week, returned home to Nice Tuesday evening (26 May), where a large group of friends, family and supporters welcomed them home.
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A leisurely stare-off in a Cleveland suburban park.
Continue readingThe climate crisis is a serious health crisis. From the report:
Rising temperatures are turning cities across south and south-east Asia into places where workers can no longer recover from the heat. A new report by US-based People’s Courage International (PCI), using research in Delhi, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Jakarta and Quezon City, has found hotter nights, combined with the urban heat island effect – the trapping of heat inside dense cities – are leaving millions of informal workers exhausted before a new workday even begins.
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The crisis is worsening in south Asia as climate change is predicted to triple the chance of pre-monsoon heatwaves, such as a 15-day one that turned deadly last month. Scientists say night-time temperatures are rising faster than daytime temperatures across much of the region, reducing the hours people once relied on to recover from extreme heat.
Across Asia, the International Labour Organization estimates that more than 70% of the workforce are exposed to excessive heat at some point during their jobs, with informal workers among the most vulnerable. This has a big impact in countries like India, where nearly 90% of workers are employed in the informal economy.
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All time record highs for the month of May bring in the first European heatwave of 2026. Among those was the UK where temps reached 34.8C, surpassing the previous all-time May peak of 32.8C, reached in 1922 and 1944. From the report:
Temperatures hit record highs for May in the United Kingdom and France on Monday, May 25, as forecasters warned of a prolonged period of extreme heat across Europe throughout the week. A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer.
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A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer. Restrictions on outdoor work were imposed in parts of Italy, beaches in southwest France filled earlier than usual and farmers reported accelerated harvests as temperatures went beyond 30°C across the region. Scientists say human-driven climate change is amplifying such extremes, with Europe warming faster than the global average and heatwaves growing more frequent and severe.
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26 photos of at least 20 different forest plants taken at or near the Mindo-Nambillo Ecological Reserve, near Mindo, Ecuador, a town about 80km northwest of Quito.
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