nature

In J.G. Ballard’s classic novel, The Drowned World, people are struggling for survival on a post-apocalyptic, overheating planet. A ‘sudden instability in the Sun’ has unleashed increased solar radiation, melting the polar ice caps and causing global temperatures to rise by a few degrees each year. Once-temperate areas, such as Europe and North America, have become flooded tropical lands, ‘sweltering under continuous heat waves’.

Telephone Road in Houston, August 27, 2017, during Hurricane Harvey floods (Credit: Thomas B. Shea for AFP-Getty)

Is Harvey a force of nature or something more?
Clearly, Harvey is a natural disaster of monstrous proportions. Its destructiveness is the hottest topic on TV coast-to-coast and around the world. Still, cynics of climate change say natural disasters, like hurricanes, are normal and nothing more than nature’s way. The evidence, however, points in another direction; climate change is no longer simply nature doing its thing. It’s lost purity of the force of nature, only nature.

The ultimate talisman of the primitive, of what the civilized call the dark ages of prehistory, is the image of tribal people cowering in fear and abasement at a reoccurring and entirely predictable phenomenon of the “clockwork universe,” the eclipse of the sun. Even civilizations with some form of recorded history but limited application of the scientific method are denigrated for their tendency to attribute this phenomenon to a sentient being.

Adrian Kowal, co-founder of Way of Nature UK, facilitates men’s retreats in the wilderness to help shed the ‘armour’ locking in suppressed emotions
The post “Men are looking for a safe container to be able to share our shadow side” appeared first on Positive News.

His passion for biking took root on the wind-licked Isle of Skye, where he grew up. Now a professional stunt cyclist, Danny MacAskill’s technical trickery and breathtaking videos have made him one of the world’s best known riders
The post The stunt cyclist who uses the countryside of his childhood as his playground appeared first on Positive News.

The publicity stunt by the country’s tourism board draws attention to ‘allemansrätten’ – the freedom to roam free in nature which is enshrined in Swedish law
The post Sweden lists entire country to rent on Airbnb – for free appeared first on Positive News.

Immersive night-time adventures into a ‘wild avian landscape’ are taking place this week as part of Brighton Festival. Artist Jony Easterby explains why he and his team created the woodland trail, inspired by the flight – and plight – of birds
The post ‘Birds are our literal canary in the coal mine’ appeared first on Positive News.

The team behind a new app hope to help Londoners enjoy nature in the city. Is using technology to encourage nature connection contradictory? Or can we ‘tap in’ to the natural world – and improve health and wellbeing at the same time?
The post Nature connection: can technology help? appeared first on Positive News.

This week on #GoodNewsNextWeek: West Virginia is on a roll now with health and hemp; Baltimore's trash-eating monster is a clean sight to see; and studies show you should get naked and go to nature.