Veronika Wild

  OK, I admit it. I have put a lot of the books back on the bookshelf, in part because I haven't even read some of them or don't remember them well enough to decide whether they should go or stay. On the other hand, others might need the environmental books more than I do.  This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND Why do we become hoarders? As I’ve been working through my cupboards and   drawers, I’ve been wondering where my packrat instincts have come from? Psychologists are only just starting to look at hoarding behaviour from a mental health perspective and have noted changes in the brain of those who do so compulsively, but since they don't seem to have made much progress, I'm happy to offer them my take.  Past Scarcity My theory is that is that just as people who’ve always had enough to eat rarely have a weight problem, those who have had to do without, been poor or were given things rather than the affection or attention they neede...

  The Great Clearance begins - I'm emptying the bookshelves Dear friends, I’m not talking about the Post -Christmas sales, when everything you wanted before Christmas drops to half price. I’ve tried to avoid those this year, as I am looking around at the immense clutter I already have. The New Rule for our house is that you can’t bring in anything new unless you are prepared to sacrifice something you already have. This is because modern houses here just don’t have the attics, cellars or even room for the garden sheds or garages we used to have. The waste is downright criminal. Each day there are offerings on our neighbourhood site for things which can be taken for free – even fridges and washing machines, because people just don't have the space or they have bought a new model. Garage sales don’t work here at all anymore, nor does free listing on Gumtree. What we need perhaps is a central repository where things surplus to requirements can be stored and taken as needed a...

  More than 100,000 tourists will head to Antarctica this summer. Should we worry about damage to the ice and its ecosystems? Elizabeth Leane , University of Tasmania ; Anne Hardy , University of Tasmania ; Can Seng Ooi , University of Tasmania ; Carolyn Philpott , University of Tasmania ; Hanne E.F. Nielsen , University of Tasmania , and Katie Marx , University of Tasmania As the summer sun finally arrives for people in the Southern Hemisphere, more than 100,000 tourists will head for the ice. Travelling on one of more than 50 cruise ships, they will brave the two-day trip across the notoriously rough Drake Passage below Patagonia, destined for the polar continent of Antarctica. During the COVID summer of 2020-21, just 15 tourists on two yachts visited Antarctica. But now, tourism is back – and bigger than ever. This season’s visitor numbers are up more than 40% over the largest pre-pandemic year . So are all those tourists going to damage what is often ...