Environment

Parts of the Amazon previously thought to have been almost uninhabited were really home to thriving populations of up to a million people, new research shows. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that there were hundreds of villages in the rainforest away from major rivers, and they were home to different communities speaking varied languages who had an impact on the environment around them. Huge parts of the Amazon are still unexplored by archaeologists, particularly areas away from major rivers. People had...

A couple claim they have been 'bullied' out of the Hobbit-style mud hut they built to combat an allergy to modern life. Nature-loving Kate Burrows, 46, and her partner Alan, 48, have left the unique home they fashioned out of the earth, tree trunks and straw after a council took enforcement action against them. Kate says she was forced out of her previous rented house by permanent flu -like symptoms as she was allergic to the mains water, electricity, wi-fi...

Legalising cocaine and heroin would boost the economy by reducing the number of murders, according to new research. The finding presented at the Royal Economic Society's annual conference in Brighton suggests increasing access to education may prove more effective than trying to tackle criminals by force. Legalisation could reduce violence by vastly decreasing the profit margins the gangs stand to gain. It would also curtail the resources they use to defend and expand their operations. But this carries such political...

London's congestion charge has increased deadly diesel pollution by a fifth putting inhabitants at a higher risk of severe lung and respiratory problems, scientists warned. The charge, introduced by Ken Livingstone in 2003 for peak time traffic, reduced some forms of pollution such as carbon monoxide, particulate matter and nitrous oxide. But it has had the unintended consequence of increasing more damaging forms of pollution - nitrogen dioxide (No2) emissions because of the increase in diesel buses and taxis, In...

Humans are sleepwalking into a mass extinction of species not seen since the demise of the dinosaurs, British scientists warned. Man-made global change is threatening the diversity of different creatures that have taken millennia to evolve to live in niche habitats. Creatures that have moved into delicate ecosystems such as coral reefs often live in symbiosis with others and are the slowest to recover their diversity if damaged. But global warming and rising sea levels threatened to wipe out many...

Animal welfare charity Viva! is celebrating another victory after supermarket chain Lidl caved to public pressure to end its trade in kangaroo meat. With frozen food giants Iceland dropping sales earlier this year, Lidl had remained the only UK supermarket carrying the meat on occasion as part of their weekly promotional deals. Marketing the ‘deluxe kangaroo steaks’ as nutritious and inexpensive Lidl consumers were unwittingly buying into the largest slaughter of land based wildlife in history. Hunted at night in...

These pictures show the desolate remnants of five coastal homes which are on the brink of falling into the sea. The houses are perched on a cliff edge and at immediate risk of collapsing on to the beach below. The properties on the coast of Hemsby, Norfolk, have already spilt many of their contents out after being battered by severe weather. They will now be demolished due to the irreparable damage caused by the recent storms known as 'the Beast...

European national science academies are urging further action on climate change adaptation after new data confirmed the increased frequency of extreme weather events. Man-made climate change has been proven to have increased recent extreme rainfall and associated floods as well as increasing the risks of wildfires with implications for humans and animals, the environment, and the economy. New data shows that extreme weather events have become more frequent over the past 36 years, with a significant uptick in floods and...

Oscar-winning actor Emma Thompson has joined a peaceful walk and silent protest at a controversial fracking site. Protestors, led by over 100 women in white clothes, marched through Blackpool, Lancs., to urge the Government to publish an internal report on fracking which "could call into question" the viability of the industry. Emma Thompson, 58, led from the front holding a "NO FRACKING" sign in solidarity with the throng of protestors, accompanied by Greenpeace activist Tina Rothery. Emma Thompson in front...