Articles (Ecologist)

In his final State of the Union address, George Bush announced his support for the adoption of biofuels on a massive scale. But is the plan such a good idea? By Pat Thomas There is an old saying: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In the current scramble to face […]

We didn’t want GM on your table, but the crucial question now is, will we allow it in our tanks? Robin Maynard and Pat Thomas report In recent years, as horror headlines about genetically modified (GM) crops have vanished from the mainstream media, it may have seemed as if those battling to stop them being […]

The key message for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2007 – “Be comfortable in your genes. Wear jeans that fit the REAL you.”  NEDAW, in its 20th year, is gung-ho in its mission to convince the world that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are “serious illnesses, not choices” and that “while environmental factors […]

The Ecologist’s year-long Read the Label campaign comes to an end this month. Pat Thomas looks back on its impact and looks forward to a healthier and more beautiful 2007 The interest in and demand for natural and organic beauty products has grown tremendously in the past few years. A recent survey in the US, […]

As doctors can tell you, the best remedy for colds and flu is the traditional one: rest, warmth, fluids – and time. Drug manufacturers want you to believe otherwise. But, as Pat Thomas reports, pharmaceutical ‘cures’ may be more than just a waste of money Most of believe there are only four seasons; but actually […]

Many mainstream toiletries’ incompatible ingredients require chemicals to bind them together. Pat Thomas considers the alternatives to this unholy alliance Many of the ingredients in commercial toiletries are uneasy bedfellows: none more so than water and oil. Anybody who has ever made a salad dressing or sauce knows these two don’t combine well unless you […]

The bird is now bones, the gravy glue, the roast veggies are on their way to becoming a source of winter fuel and as soon as everyone’s dinner has gone down a bit, it will be time to do the washing-up. If you are one of the 64 per cent of households in the UK […]

It’s easy to feel so overwhelmed by the problems facing our planet that we turn away to whatever will cheer us. Pat Thomas shows us the pattern of climate change denial We live in a world haunted by the issue of climate change. A world with problems seemingly so severe and out of control that […]

Obesity is a problem that is chronic, stigmatised, costly to treat and rarely curable. Why? Because we are looking in the wrong places for a solution. Pat Thomas reports Open a newspaper and on any given day you can usually find a story about the growing number of overweight and obese people throughout the UK, […]

Relationships, like so many other aspects of modern life, are increasingly subject to the pressures of commercialisation. ‘Buy this and you’ll be happy’, suggests the marketing. And one recent product, both intimate and as impersonal as can be imagined, boasts particular success. Pat Thomas writes Women in the West are becoming slaves to a new […]