10 thought-provoking sustainability long reads you’ve now got time for

From Japan’s plastic addiction to seed bomb-deploying drones, these fantastic long reads paint a fascinating picture of our changing climate.

1. Greta Thunberg: How one teenager became the voice of the planet

When adults wouldn’t listen, Greta Thunberg started to strike. Now millions of school children around the world follow her. This in-depth look at Sweden’s famous climate-saving teenager explains how her generation is our best chance of saving the world.

Read it at Wired.co.uk

2. Throwaway society: Rejecting a life consumed by plastic

Japan produces an estimated nine million tons of plastic waste each year, with disposable packaging and food containers accounting for more than 40%. This long read examines exactly how this plastic consumption impacts us all on a personal level.

Read it at Japantimes.co.jp

3. Under the weather: The psychological impact of climate change

As psychiatrists and philosophers begin to define a pervasive mental health crisis triggered by climate change, this article asks who is really sick: us as individuals, or society?

Read it at Believermag.com

4. We could have had electric cars from the very beginning

Early electric cars performed better in cities than internal combustion vehicles, but didn’t give riders the same illusion of freedom and masculine derring-do. This deep dive looks at the events that led to society choosing the petrol and diesel cars over electric models, and what that setback has cost us in the long run.

Read it at Longreads.com

5. Climate change action: Your choices have a ripple effect

Is individual action pointless in the face of climate change? How much difference can one person really make to a crisis that threatens the entire planet? This accessible long read from the BBC looks at the facts and figures, and draws on wisdom from Greta Thunberg herself to yield a cautiously optimistic conclusion.

Read it at BBC.co.uk

6. How climate change is affecting Greenland’s food scene

For many scientists, Greenland is ground zero for global warming. As its massive ice sheet melts at an alarming rate, its citizens – and chefs – are adjusting to a new way of doing things.

Read it at GQ.com

7. Half the world’s future

How can we hope to enact meaningful change for the climate if half of the scientists issuing stark environmental warnings are being ignored, spoken over or simply not taken seriously? This eye-opening long read by female climate scientist Tamsin Edwards takes a critical look at sexism and gender bias within the climate change discussion.

Read it at PLOS.org

8. Microplastics: Seeking the ‘plastic score’ of the food on our plates

Microplastics are found everywhere on Earth, yet we know surprisingly little about what risks they pose to living things. Scientists are now racing to investigate some of the big unanswered questions. This long read from the BBC explains exactly why that’s proving so challenging.

Read it at BBC.co.uk

9. A once and future beef

Beef is a major culprit of the climate crisis, but if you want to consider beef’s future, then look to its past. This insightful long read argues that the meat industry’s tactics haven’t changed as much as we might think.

Read it at Longreads.com

10. Tropical forests are dying. Seed-slinging drones can save them

In 2017, nearly 16 million hectares of tropical forest was destroyed around the world, so the race is on to save them before it’s too late. This long read looks at the innovative – and often surprising –technology being deployed to do exactly that.

Read it at Wired.co.uk

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