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Researchers on a mission  |  Environment
On a mission to bring nature back into cities

Polish geographer Dr Iwona Zwierzchowska is on a mission to develop green spaces in the city of Poznań with the help of EU funding and 30 partners ...

Researchers on a mission  |  Environment
On a mission to beat plastic pollution

German marine biologist Dr Tim Kiessling is on a mission to discover the true scale of plastic pollution in rivers across Europe, with the help of EU ...

Farmland birds, key indicators of ecosystem health, have suffered significant declines across Europe in recent decades. © David Paniagua, Shutterstock.com
Agriculture  |  Environment  |  Science in society  |  Space
Satellites help chart a future for Europe’s disappearing farmland birds

Farmland birds have declined dramatically across Europe, signalling wider ecological problems. Researchers are using satellite data and AI to identify ...

Biomaterials in granular form are today used to make items such as mulching film or disposable tableware as well as different kinds of packaging. © Novamont
Environment  |  Industry  |  Bioeconomy
From plastic litter to high-quality compost

Early shoots for the bioeconomy have sprung up through innovative ideas in completely different businesses. And, at the same time, they raise some legislative initiatives.

During the PERPETUATE project, researchers used a huge shaking table from the Italian National Agencies for New Technologies and the Environment in Rome to test the vulnerability of model buildings confronted by a simulated earthquake. Here, a model of a vault from the Dey Mosque of Algiers is being tested. © Serena Cattari
Science in society  |  Environment
Earthquake projects try to preserve history

The Ottoman mansion of Hassan Bey in the seismically active medieval centre of Rhodes, Greece, does not worry civil engineers – even though the building is faulty because its floor isn’t very well connected to the wall.

Heracleum mantegazzianum (giant hogweed) has spread rapidly in a number of European countries after introduction as an ornamental from its native area. © Shutterstock
Environment
The aliens are here

They can burn and blister your skin, stop you from getting a mortgage, and even kill you.Plants and animals carried around the world by tourists and trade are costing the European Union over EUR 12 billion per year. Even these estimates are conservative as the data relates mostly to land-based invasive species.

A cross section of the tree trunk shows the symptoms of the ash dieback. ©Fera-Crown
Environment
The alien fungus attacking ash trees

Ash dieback is an invasive fungus that threatens to decimate stocks of European ash.

© Getty
Bioeconomy  |  Environment  |  Industry  |  Agriculture
Bioeconomy: the new revolution

The industrial revolution made the world wealthy through a simple idea: to replace the physical labour of humans and animals with energy from fossil fuels. Two-and-a-half centuries after the revolution started, however, it is in trouble. The oil that powers much of the world’s economy is running out, and the greenhouse gases given off by the fuels are harming the planet. 

The zeppelin's mission is to collect as much data as possible on air pollutants and climate-altering gases in the atmosphere © Pegasos
Environment
Aboard the Climate Zeppelin

It is about two in the morning and while most Europeans are tucked up in bed, the sleep-deprived crew members of the Pegasos Zeppelin are preparing for take-off. Weather conditions are perfect so they load the airship with their state-of-the-art equipment and get ready to start their day’s work.

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