“Science is not Neutral!” Autumn 1970, when British science occupied itself |...
The British Science Festival has long frustrated people as more about PR than debate. In 1970, activists decided to shake things up and staged an intervention.It’s Autumn 1970, the leaves are turning,...
View ArticleWhy women in science are annoyed at Rosetta mission scientist's clothing
Alice Bell: ESA can land their robot on a comet. But they still can’t see misogyny under their noses. This morning, when Dr Matt Taylor briefed the press on the Rosetta mission, he wore a very plain...
View ArticleShould universities be exempt from Freedom of Information requests?
As public funding for universities reduces, is it time they became as exempt from Freedom of Information laws as the private sector? Or should we reform FOI instead?Times Higher magazine recently ran...
View ArticleThe problem with Professor Branestawm | Alice Bell
Norman Hunter’s Professor Branestawm has been on and off our bookshelves and the BBC since 1933. Why do we keep coming back to him?I was about half way into a PhD on British children’s science...
View ArticleScience’s embarrassing fossil fuel problem | Alice Bell
Alice Bell: Willie Soon has been criticised for taking money from the energy industry, but he’s more normal than much of science would like to admit. An investigation by Greenpeace and the Climate...
View ArticleWhy science needs progressive voices more than ever
Amid the row over Brexit, the sector must loosen links to society’s elite and speak up for those who have been marginalisedBrexit has thrown British science into a mess. During this period of political...
View ArticleThe UK public love wind power and they don't even know it
A new poll suggests British people grossly underestimate public support for new energy technologies - is negative news reporting to blame?Back in 2014, David Cameron told the House of Commons Liaison...
View ArticleWhy we’re all everyday climate change deniers | Alice Bell
Global warming is scary and abstract. No wonder we struggle to face up to it – and let politicians and industry off the hookAfter Donald Trump won last month’s US presidential election, hot takes...
View ArticleDon’t blame green targets for Grenfell – insulation saves lives | Alice Bell
Rightwing papers have implicated energy-efficiency measures in the tragedy. But cold homes are dangerous and disproportionately affect poorer people’s healthAs the London Fire Brigade’s dogs and drones...
View ArticleIn 10 years' time trains could be solar powered
A technique has been devised that allows electricity to flow directly from solar panels to electrified train tracks to the trains themselves making solar powered trains more feasible than ever...
View ArticleIs UK science and innovation up for the climate challenge?
The government has shaken up the UK research system. But fossil fuels, not low-carbon technologies, still seem to be in the driving seat.A new report by Richard Jones and James Wilsdon invites us to...
View ArticleCan laboratories curb their addiction to plastic?
Research scientists have largely gone unnoticed as major users of unrecyclable material. Now some universities are helping them kick the habitScientific research is a largely ignored consumer of...
View ArticleWe’ve already got a climate crisis – let’s not turn it into a culture war |...
Shouting slogans won’t change anyone’s mind. We activists must engage even with those whose views we find abhorrentJust 2% of the election debate was spent discussing the climate crisis. That includes...
View ArticleThe climate crisis leaders' debate: what did we learn? | Zoe Williams, Alice...
How did the leaders of the main parties, minus Boris Johnson, address the biggest issue of our times? Four writers respondThe climate change debate left me mournful: it wasn’t the montage of...
View ArticleThe planet faces a climate emergency – but activists need to strap in for the...
As COP25 meets in Spain, the momentum generated by this year’s global protests must continue into 2020 and beyond• Alice Bell is co-director at climate change charity, PossibleHere we go. A nip in the...
View ArticleBeware oil execs in environmentalists’ clothing – BP could derail real change...
If a company that made its name in oil wants us to believe it can be part of the climate solution, it needs to stop drillingBP’s got a new boss, Bernard Looney. He doesn’t wear a tie, he’s on Instagram...
View ArticleSixty years of climate change warnings: the signs that were missed (and ignored)
The effects of ‘weird weather’ were already being felt in the 1960s, but scientists linking fossil fuels with climate change were dismissed as prophets of doomIn August 1974, the CIA produced a study...
View ArticleSixty years of climate change warnings: the signs that were missed (and...
The effects of ‘weird weather’ were already being felt in the 1960s, but scientists linking fossil fuels with climate change were dismissed as prophets of doom. By Alice BellContinue reading...
View ArticleThe IPCC climate report is grim – but there is still room for hope | Alice Bell
There is only a small window in which to mitigate the worst effects. So make a change now, and make it one you can stick toIf the prospect of nuclear war wasn’t enough, the Intergovernmental Panel on...
View ArticleRishi Sunak’s spring statement 2022 – the panel verdict | Miatta Fahnbulleh...
How well has the chancellor responded to the cost-of-living crisis? Our panellists give their viewAs the chancellor stood up today, families up and down the country were facing the worst real-terms...
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