Environment

Going on in the world this week

Artur Donaldson

30 Nov 2018

Brazil – This week Brazil’s government announced that it will no longer be hosting the UN global summit on climate change next year citing costs. The conference could cost Brazil up to $100 million. Brazil spent $4.6 billion on the 2015 Olympic games and it is expected that $33 trillion worth of damage worldwide will result from climate change by 2050 according to a 2016 report. Brazil’s prime minister, Mr. Bolsonaro, has called manmade climate change a plot by “Marxists” to stifle economic growth.

How trashy is your period?

Menstrual cups – why you should care about periods even when you don’t have one.

Grinding to a halt – China bans imports of waste

Last year the UK exported two-thirds of its plastic waste to China. In 2018 it banned imports. What will happen?

Going on in the world

Monday sees the beginning of the COP 24 conference in Katowice, Poland. Previous conferences include 2015’s COP 21, in which 190 nations committed to limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In other news, Felix sees the beginning of a new column

Can a tiger change its stripes?

China has postponed previous plans to lift the 25-year-old ban on the sale and use of rhinoceros horn and tiger bone for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), following an international furore. This announcement comes two weeks after the State Council’s decision in October to reverse the 1993 ban

News

Imperial to downsize its security team

Imperial College is reducing the size of its Security and Community Safety (SCS) team to make financial savings. In emails sent to staff concerned by the changes in early June, the Director of Security and Community Safety said she identified a need to improve “value for money” and announced a

News

Hugh Brady to remain College President until 2030

Professor Hugh Brady’s term as President of Imperial has been extended by three years until August 2030, following a unanimous approval by the College Council. In an email to students and staff, Council Chair Vindi Banga said a Search Committee commissioned in February found “extensive support for this extension”

Science

Meet Imperial’s 2026 iGem team: reGelerate

The Imperial iGEM 2026 team, reGelerate, is preparing to compete in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM), the world’s largest annual synthetic biology contest. Bringing together interdisciplinary student teams from across the globe, iGEM challenges participants to develop innovative research projects that address real-world issues in areas such

Books

My favourite book (and goodbye)

If there’s anything I can leave you with, it’ll be a recommendation to read Rules of Civility.

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