Ecology

19 km. I’ve now arrived in the heart of the Algarve. To be journeying on foot also means to gain direct contact with the people and their environment. And isn’t that what we journalists need and want to know? What makes the people of this country tick? What are they thinking, and: how are they? In Alte, right at the beginning of the fifth day of my hike I meet an elderly lady collecting a little brushwood at the empty and dried-out Ribeira de Alte, a brook which used to be home to fish and many other wildlife, a biotope …

  I order my breakfast from next door. The price is 2 euros and forty cents and it’s eight o’clock when I hand over the key at reception and walk across to Senhor Jorge. One hot milky coffee and a cheese roll please. Bom dia. Two minutes later everything is standing on the counter and I take my breakfast outside onto the terrace. Messines has already woken up and I am studying the way ahead on the map. Aiming for the Vale Vinagre I am soon starting my small ascent. First of all out of town and through the underpass …

Waking up, I turn on the light and find myself in a 45-euro room in a guesthouse that will accept my dog: the landlady is charging five euros extra for the privilege. I don’t receive a reply to my question whether this includes breakfast or not. But bringing pets, she says, is allowed in principle. So I’m using the remote control to consult the comrade on the corner up where the wall and the ceiling of the room meet, to call up the weather forecast. No change in sight. It will remain hot and dry. Fabulous weather for tourists, bad …

Saturday 22th January 2022. “People hear the problem, they get scared faced with this problem and do want to change, but end up considering that it’s very hard and they won’t be able to do it.” It’s to counter this way of thinking that marine biologist Ana Pêgo works to raise awareness for ocean protection in communities. At the end of the day, change is within reach for each and any one of us. Step by step, we can all be agents of change. Known for being a woman on a mission, Ana the biologist sees marine waste as a …

I was asked to write my thoughts about COP26, which has just ended in Glasgow. As if I were somehow an expert, or even what I believe is now called an “influencer” of some kind. I’m not, I’m afraid. So, I decided to write an open letter. Dear God (if you’re still around nowadays) I need your help. As you know, I’m just an ordinary guy. I’m concerned about the environment and climate change, and I’d like to contribute in some way. But, I’m confused: what can I myself do? You may remember that some time ago, you sent us …

On a Sunday in October in this warm and dry year, at the tail end of a summer that shows no signs of wanting to end, I pull the door shut behind me, lock it, shoulder my backpack and start walking east, with my dog for company. I‘ve taken a week‘s time out for myself: a week with no computers, a life without Internet. In reality I want to take the track starting right behind my house, a trail leading into nature or, well, what is left of it after the great forest fire of 2018. After a few kilometres …

At some point I decided to no longer allow money to occupy such a prominent position in my life. I try to remain true to myself and not do anything for money that I wouldn’t do without receiving money for it. This is not the same thing as renouncing money completely. I do have to have something to live on. And I too love to be paid fairly for what I do. However, I don’t want to be a wage slave, I don’t want to sell myself, my work and the time available to me in this life so I …

You’d better believe it. This one is not about counting humans, their houses or their cars – but about gulls, their nests and their chicks: the first census of urban gulls has only just begun. This citizen science initiative organised by the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA), is asking all residents of Portugal to register online the gulls, nests and chicks to be found in their respective towns. All this information will contribute to the census of the yellow-legged gull. The main goal is an estimate of the number of breeding pairs and the distribution of its …

The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, PIK for short, is a scientific institution whose renown extends far beyond country borders. Currently working with 356 international scientists from countries from all over the world, the Institute uses an interdisciplinary approach to look for realistic solutions – even advising governments – and publishes information on current developments in scientific journals. Four research departments are working on what is known as the Earth System Analysis (oceans, atmosphere, biosphere), on climate resilience (the consequences of climate change and adaptation), transformation paths (climate risks and development) and complexity research (machine learning, non-linear methods and …