By Kevin Collins, The Open University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. An international subcommittee of geologists recently voted to reject a proposal to make the Anthropocene an official new geological epoch, defined by humanity’s enormous impact on the planet. Assuming some protests do not overturn the ruling, it will now take another decade for the decision to be reviewed. That may seem a long time given climate change concerns, but it is of course far less than a blink in planetary terms. The Earth can certainly ..read more

By Doug Specht, University of Westminster There are currently 32 active conflicts raging around the world. While bullets and bombs are the immediate instruments of destruction, maps also play a significant role in shaping conflict. Maps, although apparently objective representations of terrain, can be twisted into instruments of dehumanisation and strategic manipulation, fuelling the flames of conflict. Maps have played an especially cruel role in the creation and now destruction of Gaza. Palestine was drawn on a map at the end the First World War. The portion of the territory t ..read more

By Oli Mould, Royal Holloway University of London This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s breakthrough cinematic masterpiece, Drive My Car (2021), won him deserved critical acclaim. The film is a feat of storytelling that beautifully juxtaposes the enormity of grief with the everyday mundane. His new film, Evil Does Not Exist, is equally powerful in its use of juxtaposition. However, here he is tackling the thorny issues of gentrification (where wealthier people move in and displace and price locals out ..read more

By Edward C Hixson, the @one Alliance The context Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD), also known as Colour Blindness, is a common variation in humans that can lead to difficulties in distinguishing colours. It is predicted that three million people in Britain are colour blind, roughly 4.5% of the population. There are three different types of CVD –  protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia – which all act slightly differently. Of these, the most common is deuteranopia which affects the perception of red and green. It is key that we understand and adapt our work within the GIS profession to mak ..read more

By Caroline (Carly) Bagelman, Liverpool Hope University and Jen Bagelman, Newcastle University Pregnancy apps currently outnumber any other fitness or health app on offer; they are so ubiquitous that over 50% of pregnant people now use one. Despite the well-established fact that at least 1 in 5 pregnancies will end in miscarriage, our research suggests pregnancy apps have not been designed with this loss in mind. Attention to loss is not only lacking on these pregnancy apps but, we argue, actively contributing to silencing pregnancy loss. In framing pregnancy as a straightforward progression t ..read more

By Elliot Honeybun-Arnolda, University of East Anglia and Lucas Friche, Université de Lorraine This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Warning: this article contains spoilers “Progress! What progress? You’ve removed the river. Destroyed nature. Driven the animals out!” said Snufkin to the park-keeper in Melody of Moominvalley. The recent release of the video game Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley marks a continued rise in video games engaging with the climate and ecological crises. However, unlike other games, the plot of Mel ..read more

By Deirdre McKay, Keele University; Kelly Sheridan, Northumbria University, Newcastle, and Thomas Stanton, Loughborough University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Between 6,500 and 87,000 tonnes of microfibres are shed during domestic laundering every year in the UK. Many of these minuscule fibres end up in rivers and oceans, with devastating consequences for aquatic animals and environments. As a result, environmental advocacy groups in the UK, EU and North America are campaigning for legislation to mandate microfi ..read more

By Alastair Bonnett, Newcastle University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Dubai’s famous Palm Jumeirah is not the only man-made island to have emerged from the sea this century. Over the past 20 years, many islands have been built to accommodate both tourists and well-heeled residents – especially in the Arabian Gulf states and China. In an era of sea-level rise and increased storm activity, new islands may seem a risky venture. Yet the desire for a sea view and to put blue water between yourself and the noise, traf ..read more

By Anders Ahlström, Lund University and Pep Canadell, CSIRO This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Most of Europe’s natural ecosystems have been lost over the centuries. However, a sizeable amount of natural old forest still exists, especially in the north. These “old-growth” forests are exceptionally valuable as they tend to host more species, store more carbon, and are more resilient to environmental change. Many of these forests are found in Sweden, part of the belt of boreal forests that circle the world through Canada ..read more

By Mathias Disney, UCL This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. What can live for over 3,000 years, weigh over 150 tonnes and could be sitting almost unnoticed in your local park? Giant sequoias (known as giant redwoods in the UK) are among the tallest and heaviest organisms that have ever lived on Earth, not to mention they have the potential to live longer than other species. My team’s new study is the first to look at the growth of giant sequoias in the UK – and they seem to be doing remarkably well. Trees at two of the t ..read more