Won’t fund firms contributing to climate change: Church of England

The Church plans to withdraw investment from companies that don’t follow the terms of the Paris Agreement

No short cuts

From ‘biologically dead’ to chart-toppingly clean: how the Thames made an extraordinary recovery over 60 years

More investment is needed in new drainage infrastructure across the city to avoid damage from increasingly frequent storm surges and overflows if …

Chalk streams: why ‘England’s rainforests’ are so rare and precious

England’s chalk streams support a wide variety of biodiversity; but anthropogenic pressures are destroying these icons of English culture

Did you think obesity can't get to the poor? Think again

Obesity is increasing the most among England’s poorest, especially women, a recent report by a think tank has said

Food as history: Cambridge studies cast new light on early Anglo-Saxon kings’ relations with peasants by studying their diets

The studies note that social status did not lead to kings and nobles eating more meat than peasants; but once a year, both did gorge on animals …

A history of Easter feasts and why the English breakfast might be medieval

Medieval European history gives us an idea as to how modern Easter feasts in Western culture may have evolved

Tale of two Roses: How one discovered another, 125 years ago

How rosarian MS Viraraghavan and his wife Girija introduced Richard Rose, a water rose named after the man who discovered it in the 19th century&…

2014 was the UK’s warmest year on record

It was also the fourth wettest year in records dating back to 1910, the UK Met office said

Farmers at Singhu and Tikri have a host of global peasant revolts to look up to

As the farmer protests continue in Delhi, we examine other instances in world history when cultivators have rebelled

Patterns in the sky

It is that time of the year again when starlings roam the skies in huge swarms that form distinct patterns. Down To Earth tells you more about …

Malaria drug-resistant parasite common in Southeast Asia: study

The problem could get much worse if the parasite reaches Africa, warn experts

Northern US braves historic snowstorm

Major cities experienced power outages and travel disruptions amid heavy snowfall

60% European water bodies highly polluted: study

European Environmental Agency, in its study, finds English rivers, lakes and estuaries to be among the worst

Cholesterol drug sold over-the-counter has dangerous side-effects

Niacin can cause bleeding and infection in the gut and brain

Rare copy of world’s first geological map of a nation found

The map and its theories, prepared by William Smith in the nineteenth century, led to the development of geology

Sri Lanka is not anybody’s dumping ground

In a major win, the country's Court of Appeals recently ordered the repatriation of hazardous waste imported from the UK

Bytes

Women over 65 most prone to cervical cancer

Regular screenings for the disease fall drastically with age

Inflatable incubator design wins James Dyson Award

The device, which costs just $400, has the same features as a modern incubation system costing $45,000

More than 20,000 Ebola cases likely by November, forecasts WHO

The United Nations has already called for 20-fold increase in assistance to control the outbreak in West Africa

Ebola more deadly for children under 4 years

Young children more at risk than adults as the mean incubation period, the average time from infection until the onset of symptoms, is shorter

UK paid £43 billion in green taxes in 2013

The figure was the highest ever for the country, with the majority of the environmental taxes paid by the commercial sector

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Researchers find more reasons to quit smoking

Death due to renal failure and intestinal ischemia associated with smoking