2022 too short, too far: How the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacted the world

Down To Earth recaps the primary environment, health and developmental news from 2022

What’s in a surname

Culture>> Family Name • Tajikistan/Russia

News snippets

Bear orphanage

Hitler's minefield

Great Siberian thaw

Methane, carbon dioxide will be released on a huge scale

In Short

‘A consequential but ultimately tragic figure’: last leader of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev dies aged 91

Like other tragic reformers in history, Gorbachev’s chief legacy is to remind us about what might have been, rather than what subsequently …

In the midst of war, Russia hits at patents

As US-EU sanctions deepen, Moscow passes a law to allow free use of patents owned by ‘unfriendly countries’

Famines: what 20th century food crises tell us about how to cope with the Ukraine fallout

Our success at navigating the first serious global challenge to food security in the 21st century will indicate how well equipped we are to …

Stop attacking health workers, cease hostilities in Ukraine: WHO

Attacks on health workers have led to at least 12 deaths and 34 injuries in Ukraine since February 24

‘It is not just a nuclear risk, but a climate risk’

Jan Haverkamp, a nuclear expert of Greenpeace (Central and Eastern Europe), spoke to Down To Earth on about Akademik Lomonosov — the first …

Arctic rivers continue to melt more and more every summer, says report

The Arctic Report Card for 2018 notes that this provides powerful evidence for the intensification of the Arctic hydrologic cycle

Aid package not enough, say Europe’s struggling farmers

The EU has announced a $560-million support package for farmers hit by Russia’s import ban

Virtual war

Wikipedia becomes target of anonymous edits against Russia Wikipedia>>Politics>>Russia/Ukraine

Russia's role raises hopes and fears

With Russia participating in the first unified space station project, international cooperation reaches new heights. But there are also doubts …

Why Russia pulled out of its grain deal with Ukraine — and what that means for the global food system

Ukrainian grain is important for feeding the world and the the Black Sea is a vital route to getting it to people who need it.

Wisent: Ukraine war could wreck efforts to save and rewild Europe’s great wild bovid, say new study authors

Parts of Poland, Ukraine, western Russia, parts of the Balkans and Germany most appropriate to rewild wisent

Simply Put: Becoming a Russian Bear

Life-taking' water

Danger zone

Junkies rule Russia

Living dangerously

A study on polychlorinated biphenyls in Russia may throw up some startling findings

Clearing the way

As Russia signs the Kyoto protocol, positive action against global warming seems on the anvil

Thriving mafia