Articles (Ecologist)

In the pantheon of great first lines, ‘It was the best of times; it was the worst of times’ ranks pretty highly. In the 150 years since A Tale of Two Cities was published, countless grateful journalists have opened their reflective pieces with a touch of Dickens. In a very real sense we have enjoyed, […]

Environmental affairs are a lot like love affairs. There’s a lot of difficult territory to negotiate. A lot going on under the surface. On a nearly daily basis your emotions can range from bright, brilliant optimism to deepest, darkest despair. So it has been with campaigner Georgina Downs’ landmark High Court victory against the UK […]

Love doesn’t have to be a dirty business – unless, of course… This Valentine’s Day Pat Thomas makes a heartfelt plea for a little non-toxic lovin’. Candles, cards, chocolates…condoms. You may well be one of those love scrooges who refuses to give in to a bit of romantic indulgence. But if you are among those for […]

There was a time when sustainability was a laudable concept. Today it is often a sales gimmick. Tag the word ‘sustainable’ on to anything and it becomes a niche commodity, a way to gain advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The travel business is a good case in point. You can hardly open a newspaper […]

If you don’t know what’s gone into making your drink, stick to organic beer and wine this Christmas, says Pat Thomas It’s that time of year again. Party time. A time of good cheer. Time to hoist one in honour of the old year and in hope for the new one. The holiday season is […]

Genetically modified food. It’s a big issue. Increasingly, we are handed the notion that GM food is just like any other food, only better, because of its almost magical power to solve our most immediate crises of poverty, hunger, fossil-fuel depletion and climate change. In a world where we are daily met with the grief […]

The Government and Big Biotech say GM food is safe to eat, but with no trials conducted on humans, what they call ‘safe’ and what we call ‘safe’ may be two very different things. Pat thomas reports When it comes to food safety, it is inevitably the smallest things that bring us to our knees; […]

Big Tobacco would have you believe that where there’s no cigarette smoke there’s no fire, and so no health issues. Pat Thomas stubs out that misapprehension. We get an entertaining selection of press releases each week at the Ecologist. Recently, however, amid claims for the greenest 4x4s ever, vegan-friendly breastmilk ice cream and strip-mining with […]

Welcome to the new look Ecologist, which, I hope, will make negotiating our monthly cornucopia of in-depth investigations and stories a little easier for everyone. More important than what’s on the outside, however, is what’s on the inside – which is as thorny as ever. Reading our special investigation on meat I am reminded of […]

Sometimes even the greenest of activities have hidden impacts on the environment. Pat Thomas explains why eco-minded cyclists should break the chain of lubrication dependence. I know, I know. Every time you think you’ve gone your greenest, some killjoy comes along and raises the bar a little higher. Apologies in advance. There are an estimated […]